Some Mars-Penn members have expressed interest in finding others who
would like to carpool to this year's convention in Colorado. The
conference is being held in Boulder, CO August 14-17, 2008 at the
University of Colorado. To register, go to:
http://www.marssociety.org/portal/c/Conventions/2008/11thConventionNews
If you are interested in coordinating transportation with others from
Pennsylvania, please get in touch with me.
On to Mars!
-Gustave Scheerbaum

-------- Original Message --------
From: Mars Society Web Site <Marsbulletin@...>
Date: Wed, October 03, 2007 7:44 am
To:

University Rover Challenge 2008 - Call For Entrants

The Mars Society's Second Annual University Rover Challenge (URC) is seeking the best and brightest college teams to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers for a competition at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in southern Utah. The international competition will be held June 5-7, 2008; thousands in prize money, and a year's worth of bragging rights, are up for grabs.

UNR Takes the Title at URC '07

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) won the inaugural URC in 2007, and was presented with their award by Dr. Buzz Aldrin at the 10th International Mars Society Convention in Los Angeles. The 2007 URC was also recently featured on the Daily Planet on the Discovery Channel Canada, and is gaining visibility worldwide as a premier event for the best engineering and science talent entering the space workforce.

The team from UNR will be defending their title at URC 2008, but will face a larger field and even tougher events. Teams and their rovers will compete in four events: geology and soil characterization tasks, a basic construction task, and a navigation task that will require teams to deliver emergency supplies to a distressed astronaut in the field. The official rules and full details for URC 2008 are now available at www.universityroverchallenge.org .

Interested student teams should contact the URC Director, Kevin Sloan, at kevin@... . The Indication of Participation deadline is February 1, 2008. Former students and community members alike are encouraged to reach out to their alma matters and local universities to help form teams. Don't let your school go unrepresented at the 2008 University Rover Challenge!

For further information about the Mars Society, visit our website at www.marssociety.org . Your donations are welcome.

---

This newsletter was sent because you subcribed at the Mars Society web site, or were subscribed as a Mars Society member, or had previously subscribed at the Yahoo Group. You can opt out or change your delivery format in your preferences (once you've logged in). If you have any difficulty unsubscribing, please contact the webmaster for assistance.
This and other news can be found at The Mars Society Web site here .

> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [marssocietynewsletter] Ninth International Mars Society a
> Convention a Great Success
> From: "marssoc" <marssocinfo@...>
> Date: Tue, August 08, 2006 12:24 am
> To: marssocietynewsletter@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Ninth International Mars Society a Convention a Great Success
>  August 7, 2006
>  For further information about the Mars Society, visit our website at
>  www.marssociety.org
>
>  The Ninth International Mars Society Convention, held in Washington
>  DC August 3-6, 2006 was a great success. Over 400 people attended.
>  Speakers included NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, NASA Associate
>  Administrator for Exploration Scott Horowitz, NASA Associate
>  Administrator for Legislative Affairs Brian Chase, SpaceX CEO Elon
>  Musk, Space Telescope Science Institute Director Matt Mountain,
>  former NASA Mars Exploration program Director Scott Hubbard, Mars
>  Society President Robert Zubrin, Australian Astronaut Andy Thomas,
>  leading exobiologists Chris McKay and Penelope Boston, NSS Executive
>  Director George Whitesides, Space Adventures Vice President Chris
>  Faranetta, and over a hundred others.
>
>  The conference was keynoted on the morning of Thursday August 3rd by
>  Mike Griffin, who explained his plan to create a program that would
>  enable human Mars exploration expeditions before the end of the
>  2020's. He was then followed by Elon Musk, who presented his plans
>  for the privately funded creation of a line of launch vehicles that
>  could make space travel cheap enough to allow the actual settlement
>  of Mars. Brian Chase followed, explaining the parameters of the
>  political battle faced by the Vision for Space Exploration,
>  emphasizing the need to keep the grass roots coalition supporting the
>  Moon-Mars initiative united and active.
>
>  Over a hundred Mars Society members then left the conference for
>  Capitol Hill to spend the afternoon meeting with Congressmen and
>  congressional and Senatorial staff.
>  Traveling from office to office in twenty groups of
>  about 5 people each, the Mars Society members held over 100 half-hour
>  meetings, underscoring the need for the Congress to support the Moon-
>  Mars initiative, and, in fact, to accelerate it; to keep it a Moon-
>  Mars program and not allow it to decay into a Moon-only program; and
>  to insure funding and full support for a Shuttle mission to save the
>  Hubble Space Telescope. The overwhelming response to the visits was
>  positive. Particularly noteworthy was the response of a key aide to
>  likely Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hilary Clinton, who
>  assured the Mars Society activists that she was "fully onboard" with
>  our program.
>
>  Returning to the conference exhilarated, the activists rejoined other
>  conference attendees to attend a reception and then kick back for the
>  evening watching a presentation about Mars in the movies, and then
>  previewing the great documentary film "The Mars Underground," by
>  Scott Gill. This movie, which has already aired in Europe and
>  Australia to rave reviews, is the first to convey the passion and the
>  vision behind the effort to get humans to Mars. It will be out in the
>  USA this December in DVD, and may air on TV at about that time. Stay
>  tuned.
>
>  The Friday morning plenary session was led off by Scott Horowitz,
>  followed by Matt Mountain and Scott Hubbard. Horowitz laid out in
>  greater technical detail NASA's plan for the Moon-Mars program, and
>  thanked the Mars Society for the work it was doing in support of the
>  vision. Mountain's presentation made clear the enormous value of
>  Hubble for science, and the importance of the fight to save it. This
>  was underscored in comments made by Mars Society president Robert
>  Zubrin. "The Hubble is the most productive scientific instrument in
>  human history, and by far the most important accomplishment of the
>  NASA manned spaceflight program in the past 30 years. So what is
>  involved in the decision to save Hubble is the integrity of the space
>  agency. Is NASA really interested in advancing science, or are its
>  claims to that effect just so much baloney that they say in order to
>  get funds to distribute to aerospace contractors? Do we have a
>  purpose driven space program, or don't we?" Mountain agreed, and
>  thanked the Mars Society for its fierce defense of this treasure of
>  human civilization.
>
>  After the morning session, the conference divided into five parallel
>  tracks, to allow the maximum number of attendees the opportunity to
>  present papers on every aspect of Mars exploration and settlement.
>  (The full agenda and list of papers is posted at the Mars society
>  website at www.marssociety.org.) The evening session was then devoted
>  to a stirring panel discussion about the need to accept risk in human
>  space exploration.
>
>  The Saturday morning session was led off by Zubrin, who laid out how
>  far the Mars Society had come since its founding in 1998, when its
>  ideas were ruled out completely by those in power, and the
>  possibility of their ever being accepted was discounted by the gaggle
>  of cynics and self-proclaimed experts who hang about the periphery of
>  the space program. In eight years, our ideas have gone from Quixotic
>  to mainstream, and now the task is to make sure they are implemented,
>  and not stopped either by those who oppose the Vision altogether, or
>  those charlatans who are currently peddling fraudulent promises of
>  cheap electricity beamed from Lunar solar power stations in order to
>  lure the public into accepting an initiative degraded to a Moon-only
>  objective.
>
>  "They have a fundamentally base understanding of human nature,"
>  Zubrin said. "They use deceit, and appeal to greed. They try to tempt
>  people to support space with a false promise of saving them some
>  money at the pump. We say we need to go to Mars because it is the
>  planet that has the resources to support the birth of a new branch of
>  human civilization, because that is what this is really about –
>  creating an open human future where people will have the freedom to
>  be the makers of their worlds, not just the inhabitants of a world
>  already made, and growing ever narrower and more regulated as it
>  seeks to constrain human aspirations to accept ever tighter limits.
>  In the battle of ideas we will beat theirs, because ours are based on
>  truth. We will win by building a movement based on Hope rather than
>  Greed."
>
>  Zubrin was followed by Australian Astronaut Andy Thomas, a veteran of
>  a five-month mission to the Russian Space Station Mir, a Columbia and
>  an ISS mission, and most recently, STS 114, the summer 2005 mission
>  commanded by Eileen Collins which returned the Shuttle to flight.
>  Thanking the Mars Society for everything it is doing, Thomas
>  presented Zubrin with a Mars Society flag that the STS 114 crew had
>  brought to orbit with them on their historic mission. The morning
>  session was then rounded out by exobiologist Chris McKay, who laid
>  out the key issues involved in the search for life in the universe.
>
>  During the afternoon, dozens of additional presentations were made in
>  the parallel track sessions, and the Mars Society Steering Committee
>  also met. Most of the discussion at the Steering Committee meeting
>  revolved around plans for the four-month Mars mission simulation crew
>  expedition to the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) on
>  Devon Island. For four months, May-August 2007, this crew of seven
>  people will engage in sustained program of active field exploration
>  900 miles from the North pole, while operating in the same mode and
>  under the same constraints that an actual human expedition would need
>  to face on Mars. Nothing like this has ever been done. By doing it we
>  will learn a great deal about how to explore on Mars, while inspiring
>  missions of people around the world with the tangible vision of human
>  exploration of Mars.
>
>  It was decided that in order to insure the best chance for success of
>  the mission, an engineering team would be sent to FMARS in advance,
>  to inspect and upgrade the facility and make sure no damage had been
>  done to it by natural or human causes in the interim since it was
>  last used in the summer of 2005. A robust telescience team to back up
>  the mission will also be created. The formal call for crew volunteers
>  will go out soon, with the goal of selecting the crew commander by
>  the end of October, and the full crew by the end of November. In
>  order to assure the widest possible field of candidates from which to
>  select a crack crew, the Mars Society will pay crew transportation
>  expenses to the Arctic. After selection, the crew will perform a two-
>  week practice mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah in
>  February.
>
>  Other decisions made at the Steering Committee included a go-ahead to
>  initiate an intercollegiate Mars rover competition. The contest will
>  differ from the several other rover/robot competitions that have been
>  held by others in that it will not only be concerned with the rover
>  mobility system. Instead, in this contest, the rovers, equipped with
>  cameras and remotely commanded, will be made to run through a stretch
>  of desert terrain with interesting and complex geology, and the
>  operating teams will attempt to make and correctly interpret as many
>  discoveries about the geology of the site as they can. The team that
>  makes the most correctly-interpreted discoveries will win. The
>  contest will thus be interdisciplinary, just as actual Mars missions
>  are, requiring participation both by engineers and natural
>  scientists. The complete rules for the contest will be published
>  shortly.
>
>  Another initiative that will be taken will be a worldwide 5k race to
>  raise money for the Mars Society's exploration projects. Details will
>  follow soon.
>
>  Saturday night the Mars Society held its annual banquet, with
>  entertainment provided by Mars musicians Bob McNally and Bebe
>  Serrato. After the entertainment, Zubrin gave a brief talk laying out
>  the plan for the 4-month FMARS 2007 expedition, calling upon those
>  present to make it possible by funding it. Over $50,000 was raised.
>
>  On Sunday, the morning plenaries were led off by George Whitesides
>  and Penelope Boston, who gave a fascinating talk about the need for
>  joint human/robot exploration. The final plenary was given by Chris
>  Faranetta, of Space Adventures, whose company is pulling together a
>  Russian-made hardware set involving the Soyuz capsule and the Proton
>  launcher to allow paying tourists to go on circum Lunar orbital
>  voyages starting in 2009.
>  After further parallel track talks, the conference closed at 3 PM.
>
>  All of the conference talks were videotaped, and will soon be
>  available for purchase on DVDs. Ordering information will follow
>  soon. In addition, papers written by presenters are being collected,
>  and will eventually be published in book form.
>
>  In sum, it was a terrific conference.
>
>  For further information about the Mars Society, visit our website at
>  www.marssociety.org.
>
>

> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [marssocietynewsletter] On-line Conference Registration to
> Close
> From: "marssoc" <marssocinfo@...>
> Date: Sat, July 29, 2006 11:23 am
> To: marssocietynewsletter@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Just a reminder that the on-line conference registration will close
>  tomorrow evening, Sunday July 30th. So, if you want to have a pre-
>  printed conference badge, and guaranteed and banquet availability, do
>  pre-register.
>
>  On-site registration will be available beginning Wednesday, August 2,
>  at 4:00 pm and continuing throughout the event. And there will be a
>  limited number of banquet tickets available. As a reminder, if you
>  have registered as a student or senior, the banquet ticket is not
>  automatically included. The cost for a banquet ticket is $50 adult,
>  $25 children age 10 and younger.
>
>  One day passes will be available at the door for those who cannot
>  attend the entire event. The cost for a one day pass is $50 adult,
>  $25 dollars student or senior.
>
>  The full schedule, in it's current revision, is available at our
>  website - www.MarsSociety.org.
>
>  There are still rooms available at L'Enfant Plaza hotel, although the
>  special conference rate is no longer available. L'Enfant is listed at
>  Orbitz, Expedia and other travel websites.
>
>  I hope to see you next week in Washington.
>
>  Maggie Zubrin
>  Executive Director
>
>

All,

The 9th Annual International Mars Society Conference will be held August
3-6 at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC.  This year's event
will be amazing one, featuring many prominent speakers such as NASA
Administrator Mike Griffin and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, as well as more
details on the unprecedented 4-month analog Mars mission the Mars
Society will be conducting at FMARS in 2007 (see the press release
below for more information on this recent announcement).

Conference attendees can stay at L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, just steps from
the National Air and Space Museum in the heart of the nation's capital,
for the discounted rate of $137 (an absolutely amazing price for such a
great location during the peak of tourist season).  However, to get
this great rate, reservations must be made by July 13.

For more details on the conference and how to make hotel reservations,
visit http://www.marssociety.org.  If you have any additional
questions, don't hesitate to email me.  With such an amazing conference
just a short drive from most of PA, I look forward to seeing many of you
in August!

Kevin Sloan

> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [marssocietynewsletter] Mars Society to Launch 4-Month Mars
> Mission to the High Arctic
> From: "marssoc" <marssocinfo@...>
> Date: Mon, June 26, 2006 5:45 pm
> To: marssocietynewsletter@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Mars Society to Launch 4-Month Mars Mission to the High Arctic
>  Press Release
>  For immediate release, June 26, 2006
>  For further information contact the Mars Society at
>  info@..., or visit our website at www.marssociety.org
>
>  By a vote of 21 to 0, with 11 abstentions, the Mars Society Steering
>  Committee has voted to undertake a four-month long simulated human
>  Mars exploration mission to the high Arctic in 2007.
>
>  The mission will consist of a single 7 person crew, which will
>  journey to the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) on
>  Canada's Devon Island, 900 miles from the North Pole, in early May
>  2007, and remain on site through the end of August 2007.
>
>  During these four months, the crew will conduct a sustained program
>  of field exploration in geology, microbiology, and paleontology, just
>  as an actual team of explorers would on the Red Planet, while
>  operating under many Mars mission constraints.
>
>  For example, no one will be able to go outside without wearing
>  spacesuit simulators, which will restrict their mobility, agility,
>  and situational awareness, and force them to communicate with each
>  other strictly by radio. The isolated team of 7 will have to do all
>  their own field work, lab work, repair of equipment, reportage,
>  chores of daily life, and get along, and thereby be forced to deal
>  with an array of problems that the first human explorers will
>  eventually face on Mars. By doing so, the Mars Society will gain
>  invaluable knowledge needed to plan the first human expeditions to
>  the Red Planet.
>
>  While on the island, the crew will communicate daily through a
>  satellite link to Mission Support Group located in the continental
>  United States. The Mission Support Group will include a Remote
>  Science Team, to guide the crew's exploration efforts, and an
>  Engineering Team to assist them in dealing with engineering problems.
>  The long-distance interaction of the crew with the Mission Support
>  Group will also be the subject of research, as the development of an
>  effective art of telescience is essential to maximizing the
>  effectiveness of human explorers on Mars.
>
>  Participation in the crew, the Mission Support Group, the Remote
>  Science Team, and the Engineering Team will be open to volunteers
>  from around the world. A formal call for volunteers, as well as an
>  extensive discussion of the plan for the mission, will be presented
>  at the 9th International Mars Society Convention, which will be held
>  August 3-6, 2006 at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington DC.
>  Registration for the convention is now open at www.marssociety.org.
>
>  Preliminary plans for the mission call for the following. First, ATVs
>  and other advance supplies will be brought in on ski-equipped Twin
>  Otters during April, when the snow on the Devon Island landing strip
>  is thick. In May, the snow is to think to make a ski-plane landing
>  safe, so the crew will cross the ice between Resolute Bay and Devon
>  on skidoos. At the end of August, helicopters are available, and will
>  be used to pull the crew out.
>
>  In order to make the funds available to enable the 4-month mission in
>  2007, the Steering Committee decided to cancel the 1-month FMARS
>  field season previously planned for 2006. As the Mars Society has
>  already successfully performed four 1-month crew rotations at FMARS,
>  another was deemed unnecessary. Additional funds are, however,
>  needed to obtain scientific equipment to maximize the return of the
>  mission. Donations are welcome, and sponsorship opportunities will be
>  available to companies, institutions, and individuals who wish to
>  participate financially in support of this historic adventure.
>
>  Commenting on the Steering Committee's bold decision to launch the
>  mission, Mars Society president Dr. Robert Zubrin said; "This is the
>  right thing to do, at the right time. The 4-month FMARS mission
>  represents a powerful extension of our analog research program to
>  date. The four-month duration will exceed that of any other space
>  agency isolation studies, but, more importantly, will involve a crew
>  that is actively being tasked to conduct a sustained program of field
>  exploration under Mars-like constraints in an extreme environment the
>  whole time. No one else has ever done anything like it. This is going
>  to be breakthrough research."
>
>  For further information about the Mars Society, visit our website at
>  www.marssociety.org.
>
>

Hello Mars-Pennsylvania Group & PA Mars Society
Members:

It’s been a while since you’ve been contacted
regarding political issues having to do with Mars, but
while Moon, Mars, and Beyond is getting on its way, we
need to shore up support for this goal-driven program
in order to keep the momentum going. Please help by
indicating to our representatives, your personal
interest in space exploration.

Currently, the “Home District Blitz for Support of
Space Exploration” is underway. This campaign is a
joint effort with the Space Exploration Alliance
(SEA). The current campaign is precursor to another
Moon-Mars Blitz to be held in November. Congress is
having August recess and while it’s almost over, we
have a little more time to try to visit your
representative personally at their home office. In
case they are not available for visits, don’t hesitate
to meet with a staff person! Please find below a
message from Chris Carberry, Mars Society Political
Director. His message includes some tips and tools for
setting up a local meeting. If you have any questions
or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thanks!

Sincerely,

Gustave Scheerbaum, P.E.
Pennsylvania State Political Coordinator
The Mars Society
gscheerbaum@...

**** Home District Blitz for Space Exploration Starts
Now ****
Chris Carberry
Mars Society Political Director
August 17, 2005

It is time to tell your members of Congress that you
support the Vision for Space Exploration.

In collaboration with the Space Exploration Alliance
(http://spaceexplorationalliance.org), The Mars
Society is mobilizing our members to speak to members
of Congress during the August recess. During this time
frame, members of Congress will be back in their home
districts, where they may be available to meet with
constituents.  We need to use this opportunity to tell
them that we support the Vision for Space Exploration.
  However, this is a short window. You need to contact
their offices soon.

THIS IS IMPORTANT!

As a constituent, you have an advantage that no
professional lobbyist has.  Members of Congress take
constituent views very seriously.  It is now time to
take advantage of that advantage – arrange a meeting
with your Representative and Senators ASAP.

Below are instructions on how to set up these
meetings.  We urge you to use these instructions and
help strengthen Congressional support for the return
to the Moon and a human mission to Mars.  This
opportunity may not present itself again in our
lifetimes.

Join us now to make the Vision a reality.

Chris Carberry
marspolitics@...

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Arranging a Meeting with a Congressional District
Office

- Send a letter (by fax) requesting a meeting to the
congressional office.  Make sure to state what
organization you are from and that you want to discuss
the Vision for Space Exploration.  (See sample letter
below)

- Follow-up with a phone call to verify that they
received it.  Be ready to answer detailed questions
about your organization and what will be discussed at
the meeting.

- If they do not respond within a few days, call them
back to check the status of your meeting request.
After this, call back weekly until a meeting date and
time has been arranged.  Be patient.  It can sometimes
take a few weeks to get a meeting date confirmed.

- Although the goal is to speak to the Congresspeople
in person, don't be disappointed if you are only able
to speak to a staff person.  Starting a dialog with a
staff person is often just as productive as meeting
with the actual Congressperson.  They often have more
time to commit to an issue.

- Confirmation Call: Call the congressional office a
day or two in advance of the meeting to confirm the
appointment.

- Do your Homework:  Make sure you know your subject
and bring appropriate handouts, displays, or
PowerPoint presentations.  Also, find out how the
Vision may be beneficial to that Congressional
district (companies, universities, etc.).

- If possible, don't go alone:  Try to have between
2-5 people in attendance at these meetings.  This will
not only show the Congresspeople that this isn't a one
person effort, but will provide a much larger pool of
knowledge to draw from.  However: You must designate a
lead person.  Otherwise, you risk talking over each
other or worse, talking over the staffers and/or
Congressperson.

2. At the Meeting

- Dress Appropriately: Business attire (suit and tie,
etc) should be worn to these meetings.  First
impressions really do matter.

- Be Prompt: Try to reach the congressional office
10-15 minutes early.  These are busy people and don't
have time to wait around for you.  If you are
unavoidably late, call the congressional office to
tell them why you are late (Example: I got stuck in a
traffic jam).  Arriving early will also give you time
to make sure you all know your roles and the overall
game plan.

- Be courteous: Try not to cut off the person you are
meeting with and don't be patronizing if they don't
agree with you.

- Be honest: If you don't know the answer to a
question, do not make one up.  Tell them that you do
not know the answer, but can follow-up with them once
you have gotten an answer.

- Be cognizant of how much time you have left: If you
are only allotted 15 minutes, don't try to get 30
minutes worth of information in that 15 minutes.  They
don't want to hear auctioneers.

- Ask how you can be helpful to the legislator.

- Thank them for their time and interest.  Leave your
contact information behind.

3.  After the Visit

- Send a thank you letter, briefly reiterating the
topics discussed during the meeting.  No letter should
exceed one page unless there is there is a good reason
to do.

- Follow-up:  If you agreed to follow-up regarding a
question or if you agreed to provide some additional
information, do so promptly.  Do not agree to anything
that you cannot follow up on.

- Fill out a debriefing form while the meeting is
fresh in your mind. See reporting form at
http://home.marssociety.org/outreach/political/usa/

If you have any questions, please e-mail
marspolitics@....   We will reply promptly.

4. SAMPLE REQUEST LETTER (This is a generic request
letter.  Feel free to add a paragraph about The Mars
Society, etc.)

Dear [Representative/Senator] _____:

I am writing as one of your constituents to request a
meeting with you to discuss our nation's civilian
space program.  Specifically, I would like to discuss
the importance of supporting NASA's current mandate,
outlined by President Bush over a year ago, to
undertake a vigorous program of human and robotic
exploration under the banner of the Vision for Space
Exploration.

This mandate, which will help to maintain our
country's technological and economic preeminence in
the 21st Century, has received bi-partisan support in
Congress and is widely supported by the American
people.

This is, however, a long-term effort and support
across many administrations and sessions of congress
will be necessary if it is to succeed.  As my
representative, I hope that you will help to provide
this support.

I look forward to meeting with you soon.  My contact
information is below.

Sincerely,
....

5.  SEA TALKING POINTS (and other materials):

http://spaceexplorationalliance.org/    These are to
be brought to the meetings to hand to the legislators.
  They are intended as guidelines for the meetings and
should be used along with Mars Society materials.


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Article in the most recent version of Ad-Astra Online, the National
Space Society's online magazine hosted on Space.com, co-authored by PSU
Mars Society alumni Ryan Kobrick and myself:

http://www.space.com/adastra/adastra_mars_050802.html

Kevin


Kevin Sloan
PA Chapter Contact
PSUMS Co-Founder
Marketing Manager
The Mars Society

This Friday (July 15) at 12pm EDT, Dr. Robert Zubrin will be
participating in an online interview with SpaceAlumni.com, a new
partner of The Mars Society.  The timing of this interview is quite
advantageous, with Dr. Zubrin’s recent op-ed in Space News (July 4
issue) on the advantages of a small CEV for NASA.  To participate in
the online interview, you must be a registered user at
http://www.SpaceAlumni.com.  Registration is free, and gives you full
access to the wide array of resources available at the site.  The Mars
Society is very excited to have joined forces with its new partner, and
to be able to participate in such joint effort events as Friday’s
interview with Dr. Zubrin.  More information on SpaceAlumni.com,
including their Vision and Mission Statements, can be found on their
web site, http://www.SpaceAlumni.com.


Kevin Sloan
Marketing Manager
The Mars Society

Support the Mars Desert Research Station!

As many of you know, The Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station
(MDRS) is a world renowned project that sets our organization at the
leading edge of Mars exploration research.  For nearly six months out
of the year crews descend on Hanksville, Utah for two week long
rotations in which they simulate many aspects of a human mission to the
red planet.

To keep this outstanding facility in world-class condition, The Mars
Society's Engineering Team completed the first major upgrade of MDRS
during this past spring.  The primary focus of this refit effort was
the necessary improvement of both power and structural systems.  The
Engineering Team, never a group to stop and rest, has already begun
plans for a second major upgrade of MDRS which will increase safety,
and otherwise improve the caliber of research being performed.  Thanks
to the innumerable hours and invaluable support from the Engineering
Team, The Mars Society will continue to be regarded as a prominent
leader in the space community.

Now is your chance to get involved!

Both this spring's upgrade to MDRS, as well as continued operational
support, have been possible through major equipment donations by
several visionary sponsors and the tremendous support of the local
community in Hanksville.  It is this same support that we are hoping
will help this next major refit effort at MDRS.  To show our gratitude
to those donors and members of the local community, The Mars Society
will be hosting an open house and barbecue August 6 and 7.

At this time, everyone involved with MDRS is asking for donations to
help support both this donor appreciation event and preliminary efforts
for the coming second refit.  With a modest donation of $10 from each of
our members the Engineering Team will be able to accomplish tremendous
feats and give The Mars Society members a research facility that they
can continue to be overwhelmingly proud of.  While the Engineering Team
has already proven to have a seemingly super-human ability to accomplish
any task before it, this next feat can only be pulled off with the
support of the entire membership of this outstanding organization.

If you are able to contribute $10, $25, or even more (any size donation
will be accepted), please contact me by email and I will send you the
necessary information for your generous contribution.  If you have any
questions regarding how this money will be used, please do not hesitate
to contact me.

Thank you all for your support of The Mars Society!

Kevin F. Sloan
kevin@...
Marketing Manager
The Mars Society

Tonight (Wednesday) at 10pm EDT the History Channel will be airing its
program Modern Marvels - Future Tech, which in this episode will
feature a segment on the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station.

Tune in, Tivo it, or if all else fails, dust off your VCR.

And for those curious, I don't know either why the History Channel has a
show entitled Modern Marvels - Future Tech.

Kevin Sloan


> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: MDRS on Future Tech --- Wednesday, June 22nd
> From: "Tony Muscatello" <tonymuscatello@...>
> Date: Tue, June 21, 2005 11:40 pm
> To: <MissionSupport@yahoogroups.com>, "'RMMS Society)'"
> <RMMS@yahoogroups.com>, <RMMS-news-owner@yahoogroups.com>,
> <MDRS_Candidates@yahoogroups.com>, <spacesuit-mars@yahoogroups.com>,
> <MDRS4a-Mission-Support@...>
>
> The MDRS and the Georgia Tech crew are featured in this episode of
> Future Tech.
>
> Best regards,
> Tony
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Danielle Parsons [mailto:daniellep@...]
> Sent: Monday, June 20, 2005 7:14 PM
> To: Future Tech
> Subject: Future Tech airs Wednesday, June 22nd
>
>
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
>
>
> I am pleased to announce that "Future Tech" will premiere this
> Wednesday, June 22nd as an episode of the Modern Marvels series on The
> History Channel.  Show times are as follows:
>
>
> 10pm Eastern/Pacific
> 9pm  Central
> 8pm  Mountain
>
>
> Thank you for participating and making "Future Tech" a reality.  It's
> been a rewarding process for all of us, and we hope you like the
> program.
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
>
> Danielle Parsons
>
>
>
>
> --
>
>
>
>
>
> Danielle Parsons
> Associate Producer
> Modern Marvels
> http://www.historychannel.com/modernmarvels/
>
>
> Actuality Productions
> 18425 Burbank Blvd., Ste. 622
> Tarzana, CA 91356
> ph: 818-444-5000
> fax: 818-444-5002
>
>
>
> --
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.7.10/25 - Release Date: 6/21/2005
>
>
>
> --
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
> Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.7.10/25 - Release Date: 6/21/2005
>
>
>
> ** The following attachments were removed: multipart/alternative
>   text/html
>
> ----------------
> - (distributed via MDRS-Mission-Support@...)

I apologize for the late notice on this.

Saturday, April 16 is Astronomy Dat at the Franklin Institute in
Philadelphia.  The PSU Chapter will be on hand with its usual outreach
extravoganza, including posters, images from Spirit and Opportunity,
and the ever popular Mars Yard.  There will also be several other
groups from the local region on hand with other exhibits.  It will
definitely be an exciting day!

More information on both Astronomy Day and the Franklin Institute can be
found at:
http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/info/current/astroday.html

Kevin Sloan
PA Chapter, The Mars Society

We are currently running very short on volunteers.  Any/all help would be greatly appreciated.  Please let me know asap if you can help out.

 

We are still in need of volunteers for the event at the Carnegie Science Center Feb. 18 and 19!  Please see the message below for details, and let me know if you can help out, even if only for a small shift.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks.

 

Kevin Sloan

PA Chapter, The Mars Society

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [mars-penn] Volunteers Needed - Natl. Engr. Week at Carnegie
Science Center
From: "Kevin F. Sloan" <kevin@...>
Date: Mon, January 24, 2005 12:05 pm
To: mars-penn@yahoogroups.com

Hello all,

 

It's once again time for one of our largest outreach events of the year... National Engineers Week at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh!  Last year was the first time we participated in this event, and it was a tremendous success.  Throughout the weekend visitors and CSC staff kept complimenting our exhibit as one of the best on hand... and this year's exhibit is shaping up to be even better.  This year's event will take place Friday, February 18 and Saturday, February 19.

 

For those of you not familiar with this event, every year the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh hosts it in conjunction with the National Engineers Week.  More than 60 engineering organizations from the local community put together hands on exhibits that teach visitors about engineering concepts.  More than 5000 children and their family members attend annually.  This is an excellent opportunity to excite many future engineers about Mars exploration.

 

This is also an excellent event for any novice outreach volunteers.  The folks from the Penn State chapter will be helping out at this event, so there will be more experienced "outreachers" to help show you the ropes.  This years exhibit will feature:

Posters and images about the Mars Society, as well as the Mars Exploration Rovers

The ever popular Mars Yard, where children can drive their own Lego rovers around the surface of Mars

and a new addition for this year...

The PSU chapter will be bringing down its VR glove controlled rover!  This will not be a hands on activity for the kids, but will at least be a fun demo for them.

 

Volunteer Info:

Exhibit times:

Friday, February 18, 9:00am - 5:00pm

Saturday, February 19, 10:00am - 5:00pm

 

Setup will start Friday at 8:00am, and Saturday at 9:30am.

 

Between myself and the PSU folks, we should have setup under control... however this would be a great time for other volunteers to get a quick run-through on the ins and outs of the exhibit.

 

Volunteers will not need to work over this entire two day span; you can work any/all times that are convenient for you.

 

Please let me know as soon as you can if you will be able to volunteer at all during the weekend.  I'd like to know your available times soon, as well, however I can wait on specific times if you do not know them now.

 

Specific details will be sent out to the volunteers after I hear back from them.

 

Any other questions?  Let me know!

 

Kevin Sloan

PA Chapter, The Mars Society

************************************************************************
This message comes from the PA Mars Society Mailing List, which serves the PA, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Penn State Chapters of the Mars Society.
To post to this list, send email to mars-penn@yahoogroups.com.
Any requests regarding the mailing list can be sent to the moderator
at kevin@....  Thank you.
************************************************************************

************************************************************************
This message comes from the PA Mars Society Mailing List, which serves the PA, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Penn State Chapters of the Mars Society.
To post to this list, send email to mars-penn@yahoogroups.com.
Any requests regarding the mailing list can be sent to the moderator
at kevin@....  Thank you.
************************************************************************

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [mars-penn] Volunteers Needed - Natl. Engr. Week at Carnegie
Science Center
From: "Kevin F. Sloan" <kevin@...>
Date: Mon, January 24, 2005 12:05 pm
To: mars-penn@yahoogroups.com

Hello all,

 

It's once again time for one of our largest outreach events of the year... National Engineers Week at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh!  Last year was the first time we participated in this event, and it was a tremendous success.  Throughout the weekend visitors and CSC staff kept complimenting our exhibit as one of the best on hand... and this year's exhibit is shaping up to be even better.  This year's event will take place Friday, February 18 and Saturday, February 19.

 

For those of you not familiar with this event, every year the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh hosts it in conjunction with the National Engineers Week.  More than 60 engineering organizations from the local community put together hands on exhibits that teach visitors about engineering concepts.  More than 5000 children and their family members attend annually.  This is an excellent opportunity to excite many future engineers about Mars exploration.

 

This is also an excellent event for any novice outreach volunteers.  The folks from the Penn State chapter will be helping out at this event, so there will be more experienced "outreachers" to help show you the ropes.  This years exhibit will feature:

Posters and images about the Mars Society, as well as the Mars Exploration Rovers

The ever popular Mars Yard, where children can drive their own Lego rovers around the surface of Mars

and a new addition for this year...

The PSU chapter will be bringing down its VR glove controlled rover!  This will not be a hands on activity for the kids, but will at least be a fun demo for them.

 

Volunteer Info:

Exhibit times:

Friday, February 18, 9:00am - 5:00pm

Saturday, February 19, 10:00am - 5:00pm

 

Setup will start Friday at 8:00am, and Saturday at 9:30am.

 

Between myself and the PSU folks, we should have setup under control... however this would be a great time for other volunteers to get a quick run-through on the ins and outs of the exhibit.

 

Volunteers will not need to work over this entire two day span; you can work any/all times that are convenient for you.

 

Please let me know as soon as you can if you will be able to volunteer at all during the weekend.  I'd like to know your available times soon, as well, however I can wait on specific times if you do not know them now.

 

Specific details will be sent out to the volunteers after I hear back from them.

 

Any other questions?  Let me know!

 

Kevin Sloan

PA Chapter, The Mars Society

************************************************************************
This message comes from the PA Mars Society Mailing List, which serves the PA, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Penn State Chapters of the Mars Society.
To post to this list, send email to mars-penn@yahoogroups.com.
Any requests regarding the mailing list can be sent to the moderator
at kevin@....  Thank you.
************************************************************************

Mars Society Special Bulletin
Nov. 23, 2004
For further information, visit our website at
www.marssociety.org

In this issue:
*Moon-Mars funding passes
*Methane confirmed on Mars- is life the cause?
*Shop for Mars!

Moon Mars Funding Passes
Early Saturday morning, a House-Senate conference
committee agreed to fully fund $16.2 billion for
NASA's FY05 budget.  This is the full amount that
President Bush had requested to fund shuttle return to
flight, ISS resupply, and seed money for the Crew
Exploration Vehicle, Project Prometheus and initial
spending for the Moon-Mars Space Exploration Vision!

In July 2004, The Mars Society, along with members of
the Space Exploration Alliance, participated in the
Moon-Mars Blitz with the sole purpose of getting the
initial funding for the Space Exploration Initiative.
At The Mars Society 2004 Conference in Chicago, over
468 letters were sent out by members urging the
President and Congress to pass the initial funding.
Thank you to all who helped in this effort!!!!

The next step is to assure that the Space Exploration
Vision doesn't get moon-stuck.  Again, Mars Society
members will be asked to visit/write Congress and the
President to assure that this doesn't happen.  The
Political Task Force will have more information and
what action is needed when Congress reconvenes in
January.

Until then, the PTF urges everyone to write or email
their Senators and Representative a "thank you for
supporting the NASA 05 budget" letter. Information on
how to contact Congress is available on the PTF
website at
http://home.marssociety.org/outreach/political/usa/
Click on "Making
Contact with Congress and the White House".  After you
have written your letter, please take a minute to
report it to the PTF at
http://home.marssociety.org/outreach/political/usa/capitolwatch/report
.html

For more on the story see:
http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/spacestoryN1121NASA.htm
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/space/orl-
asecnbudget21112104nov2
1,0,1030318.story?coll=orl-home-headlines
http://www.spacetoday.net/

Methane confirmed on Mars- Is life the cause?
Evidence is pouring in confirming earlier findings of
trace methane in the Martian atmopshere. While
geothermal formation of methane is possible, the
amounts found are difficult to explain as orginating
from non-biologic sources. Subsurface microbes are a
significant source of methane on Earth, and liquid
groundwater environments capable of supporting such
microbes are believed to exist on Mars.

If human explorers were to go to Mars, drilling rigs
could be set up to reach and sample such groundwater.
Examining it could answer the central riddles
concerning life: Is life unique to the Earth? If not,
is Earth life the pattern for life elsewhere, or are
other biochemistries possible? The search for truth in
this matter provides a compelling science-driven
reason for human space exploration.

The confirmation of the methane discovery received
major coverage in today's New York Times. Excerpts
from the article follow;

Methane in Martian Air Suggests Life Beneath the
Surface

November 23, 2004
By KENNETH CHANG

A third team of scientists has now reported a
seemingly simple discovery on Mars: its atmosphere
contains methane.

But that finding has potentially profound
implications, including the possibility of present-day
microbes living on Mars.

Speaking this month at the American Astronomical
Society's Division for Planetary Sciences meeting in
Louisville, Ky., Dr. Michael Mumma, a senior scientist
at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Md., reported three years of observations had provided
strong evidence for methane.

"We are 99 percent confident," Dr. Mumma said. "It
surprised all of us, actually. We really are still
scrambling to understand what it means."

Methane, the simplest of hydrocarbon molecules with
one carbon and four hydrogen atoms, is fragile in air
and easily broken apart when hit by ultraviolet light.
Calculations indicate that any methane in the Martian
air must have been put there within the past 300
years.

That then raises the question: What is putting methane
into the Martian air?

There seem to be only two plausible explanations. One
is geothermal chemical reactions involving water and
heat like those that occur on Earth in the hot springs
of Yellowstone or at hydrothermal vents on the bottoms
of oceans.

That would intrigue planetary geologists. Although
frozen water is known to exist, there are no signs
that any volcanism has occurred there for millions of
years. Also, an instrument aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey
looked for warm spots on Mars' surface and did not
find any.

The other, more intriguing, is life. On Earth, a class
of bacteria known as methanogens breathes out methane
as a waste product. The discovery, if confirmed,
suggests that perhaps Martian life arose on a
presumably more hospitable Mars billions of years ago
and survives to this day underground, beneath the
cold, dry landscape.

Dr. Vladimir Krasnopolsky of Catholic University in
Washington, the leader of one of the teams, said he
believed bacteria to be the "most plausible source."

Others are more cautious. "Three difficult detections,
or marginal detections, don't equate to one really
strong one," said Dr. Philip R. Christensen, a
professor of geological sciences at Arizona State
University.

Dr. Krasnopolsky's findings, relying on observations
from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii,
were first reported at a conference in Europe this
year and will be published in the journal Icarus.

In January, scientists working on the European Space
Agency's Mars Express mission also reported the
detection of the methane. A few months later, that
group, led by Dr. Vittorio Formisano of the Institute
of Physics and Interplanetary Science in Rome reported
that the methane appeared to be more plentiful in
regions where frozen water is known to exist
underground.

All three teams of astronomers looked for methane
molecules in the Martian air by examining the rainbow
of light reflected by the planet. Different molecules
absorb different, very specific colors, producing a
bar-code-like series of black lines blotting out part
of the rainbow spectrum. The widths of the lines tell
the quantity. Dr. Krasnopolsky and Dr. Formisano based
their claims on a single dark line.

...
Dr. Mumma said his ground-based observations from
Hawaii and Chile spotted two separate dark lines
corresponding to methane and performed other checks.
"Mike's a really careful guy," said Dr. Steven W.
Squyres, principal investigator for the rovers now on
Mars, who attended Dr. Mumma's talk. "It was to me, by
a significant margin, the most compelling argument
that I've seen."

There is a new wrinkle in Dr. Mumma's findings: some
regions of Mars near the equator possess surprisingly
high levels of methane, up to 250 parts per billion,
while areas near the poles had 20 to 60 parts per
billion. Earth air, by comparison, contains about
1,700 parts per billion of methane. Dr. Mumma's
readings are considerably higher than those reported
by the other two groups.

Scientists have generally thought that methane, if
present, would quickly distribute evenly through the
atmosphere, so the clumps of high concentration
suggest that not only are there sources emitting
methane, but perhaps some process is also destroying
methane over the poles.

The methane findings on current-day Mars come as
planetary scientists are again rethinking their ideas
about long-ago Mars. Geological carvings on the
surface, from ones that look like meandering river
channels to gigantic canyons, gave rise to the notion
that Mars had been a tropical paradise, perhaps warmed
by a thick heat-trapping blanket of carbon dioxide in
its atmosphere.

...
Even Dr. James F. Kasting, a climatologist at Penn
State whose models helped convince people that Mars
had not been warm, has changed his mind. Dr. Kasting
is now investigating methane, a more potent greenhouse
gas than carbon dioxide, as a cause of warming. ... "I
think the evidence keeps mounting that it was warm. I
think it has to be stably warm."

...

The complete NY Times article can be found at;

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/science/space/23mars.html?
ex=1102215245&ei=1&en=b3587b8a1e187850

Shop for Mars!
Buy your Christmas gifts through the "Buy it at the
Mars Society" link at www.marssociety.com. Dozens of
brand name merchants are represented there, and at no
extra cost to you, part of every purchase will go to
support the work of the Mars Society.

For further information about the Mars Society, visit
our website at
www.marssociety.org.



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Get it on your mobile phone.
http://mobile.yahoo.com/maildemo

> Subject:
  >
  > SpaceVision2004 Conference, Nov. 11-14, MIT
  > From:
  >
  > Bruce Mackenzie 3 <BMackenzie@...>
  > Date:
  >
  > Sun, 31 Oct 2004 20:53:05 -0500
  > To:
  >
  > vision2004-info@...
  >
  > Interested in human spaceflight? robotics?
technology? policy?
Register
  > now!
  >
  > SpaceVision2004 Conference
  > November 11-14, 2004
  > Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  > http://web.mit.edu/mars/SpaceVision2004/
  >
  > SpaceVision2004 is the largest MIT space event in
recent history,
  > featuring:
  >
  > * NASA Associate Administrator Adm. Craig Steidle
  > * NASA Space Architect Gary Martin
  > * X Prize da Vinci Project Team Leader Brian Feeney
  > * Mars Society President Dr. Robert Zubrin
  > * Space Frontier Foundation President Rick
Tumlinson
  > * Kerry Campaign space advisor Lori Garver
  > * ISU co-founder Bob Richards
  > * NSS George Whitesides
  > * and many more ...
  >
  > The conference proceedings will cover national,
commercial, and
public
  > space endeavors, including:
  >
  > * The U.S. National Vision for Space Exploration
  > * National and international space policy
  > * The X Prize and the future of private human
spaceflight
  > * Next-generation magnetoplasma rocket propulsion
  > * Nuclear power for extraterrestrial human
settlements
  > * Space suits for the Moon and Mars
  > * Space and technology education
  > * Academic and commercial opportunities for
students
  >
  > In addition, look for the following special events
during the
weekend:
  >
  > * Space Elevator Climber Demo on the MIT Green
Building
  > * Professional Forum on the Value Proposition for
Human Space
Exploration
  > * Space Advocacy Discussion Group Forum
  > * Aerospace Career Fair
  > * Student Poster Session
  > * Space Policy Workshop
  >
  > Don't miss your chance to participate! REGISTER
ONLINE TODAY:
  > http://web.mit.edu/mars/SpaceVision2004/
  >
  > Discount registration
<https://shopmit.mit.edu/merch01/index.html>
  > closes November 7th!
  >
  >
  > <http://web.mit.edu/mars/SpaceVision2004/> - The
SpaceVision2004
  > Conference Committee, vision2004-info@...




_______________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Express yourself with Y! Messenger! Free. Download now.
http://messenger.yahoo.com

With less than one week to go, here are few articles
to consider before going to the polls.

Science Magazine did a special report "The
Presidential Candidates on Science" (originally
published in Science Express on 15 September 2004).
Both candidates answered questions ranging from Space
Policy to Cloning.

You can find it here:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5693/46

PhysicsToday.org has an article "Presidential
Candidates Speak Out on Science Policies" It can be
found at
http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-57/iss-10/p28.html

On October 14, 2004 "The Aerospace Platforms of the
Presidential Candidates - A Debate Between
Representatives of the Bush-Cheney & Kerry-Edwards
Campaigns" was co-sponsored by Women In Aerospace and
the Washington Space Business Roundtable.  Two members
of the Mars Society attended, Alex Kirk and Kevin
Sloan. Alex wrote the following summary.

"The space policy debate on October 14 between
representatives of the Bush and Kerry campaigns, much
like the debates between the actual candidates
themselves, was an informative one -- not so much in
terms of what was actually said at the debate, but in
terms of the connotations that observers of these
debates were able to glean from them.

The two debaters -- Frank Sietzen, a space journalist,
for the Bush campaign, and Lori Garver, a former NASA
associate administrator for policy and planning,
representing the Kerry team -- seemed to agree on most
substantive issues: for example, that NASA was worthy
of continued solid funding, that getting said funding
from Congress was going to be a difficult task, and
that the Mars Rover missions had been inspirational
and should be lauded for their success. Both agreed
that the government should be attempting to inspire
more youths to pursue careers in the sciences, and
both strongly supported SpaceShip One and other groups
attempting to bring private enterprise to space
exploration.

The only major issue on which the two disagreed --
besides the typical areas of partisan bickering, with
the two accusing the other's candidate of having
neglected space issues or of having politicized NASA
-- was on the role of human spaceflight in the overall
NASA vision. Unsurprisingly, Sietzen lauded the
accomplishments of the Vision for Space Exploration to
date, emphasizing all the positives that are
anticipated if America should stay the course and
follow the Bush plan; meanwhile, Garver repeatedly
stated that the VSE was simply the wrong way for the
space program to go, and that while human spaceflight
should not be ignored -- and should in fact be
encouraged -- it should be part of a broader,
balanced, and international set of goals for NASA. The
two sounded as if they were miniaturizations of their
respective candidates -- Sietzen literally called
Kerry a "flip-flopper" on space, and Garver
continually hammered home her assertion that the Bush
vision was unilateralist, and that a Kerry space
program would be much more international in its scope.

Given that the two were both as evasive and light on
facts as their respective campaigns, one could not be
faulted for wondering if anything could be learned
from their responses. Yet the very nature of their
responses, along with their official positions in
their respective campaigns, gives us one very
important piece of information: that space policy
ranks very, very low on the candidates' radar screens.
Sietzen is not even officially affiliated with the
Bush campaign; he was simply asked by
them to serve as a proxy for this debate. Garver,
meanwhile, has done some official work for the Kerry
campaign, but is by no means a full-time operative,
and certainly is nowhere near the top of that
organization.

This point is hammered home -- and explained very well
-- by the reaction to the debate of Keith Cowing, a
noted (if not necessarily well-loved) space
commentator, who said in a piece he wrote on the
debate
(http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=987)
that while he would vote for the Bush team hands-down
if the only issue in this campaign was
space exploration, he would be voting for Kerry this
time around "for a number of reasons that have nothing
to do with space."

While I'm sure this is not news to many of you reading
this -- we've all known space is and has been a
low-priority issue for some time -- it should serve as
a reminder to us all: those in the space advocacy
community need to make their voices heard. If we're
not calling our Congresspeople, sending letters to the
White House, and doing everything else we can to keep
space in the minds of politicians, it is liable to
slip from a minor issue to one that is altogether
forgotten by those in power. So keep up the good fight
-- and get in touch with your representatives today!"

Please get out and vote!  The space advocacy community
has made progress over the last several years and our
voices are getting louder and stronger. No matter who
is elected on November 2, there will be much work do
to in the coming year, not only to achieve our goal of
Humans to Mars in the near term, but to keep human
space exploration alive and well and get the world
headed in the right direction - UP!

- The Mars Society Political Task Force

__________________________________________________
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just received this message... even if you're delayed
in getting the message, call anyway. please help also!
-----------------------------------------------------

Call Congress Now to Support Moon and Mars Exploration
July 21, 2004 for further information about the Mars
Society, visit our website at www.marssociety.org.

At this critical moment, you need to show your support
for human space exploration by taking action.

Yesterday, July 20, the House Appropriations
subcommittee in charge of civil space recommended that
NASA's budget be cut by 7% from requested levels.
That's a cut of over $1 billion, with the new human
Moon and Mars exploration budget taking the worst
hits.

This is unacceptable. But it is not over yet. There is
another meeting of the full committee that can review
this first recommendation on Thursday, and it is
essential that you let them know how you feel.

What can you do? Call Congress today or tomorrow,
especially if you are a constituent of the
representatives on the committee. Tell them that you
support full funding of the NASA fiscal year budget
request.

The House switchboard is: 202-225-3121. They can
connect you to any the office of any representative.
First, look over the list below, and make sure to call
your representative if you see them on the list. But
call regardless! There is very little time and we must
act fast.

The members of the committee are listed below. Call
now. It's not too late to turn this decision around.

Tell them you want all NASA requested funds for
initiating human exploration of the Moon and Mars
restored to the budget.

The American space program needs a goal, and that goal
needs to be humans to Mars. Without setting our sights
on such a goal, and starting work, we will have still
more years and decades of wasteful aimless activity,
with our human spaceflight program just going around
in circles. That is iresponsible.

The American people want and deserve a space program
that is really going somewhere. Approving these funds
is the necessary first step towards giving the space
program the direction to make that happen.

Robert Zubrin
President, Mars Society
===================================

House Appropriations Committee

C. W. Bill Young, FL (R - Chairman) David R. Obey, WI
(D - Ranking
Member)
Ralph Regula, OH (R) John P. Murtha, PA (D)
Jerry Lewis, CA (R) Norman D. Dicks, WA (D)
Harold Rogers, KY (R) Martin Olav Sabo, MN (D)
Frank R. Wolf, VA (R) Steny H. Hoyer, MD (D)
Jim Kolbe, AZ (R) Alan B. Mollohan, WV (D)
James Walsh, NY (R) Marcy Kaptur, OH (D)
Charles H. Taylor, NC (R) Peter J. Visclosky, IN (D)
David L. Hobson, OH (R) Nita M. Lowey, NY (D)
Ernest J. Istook, Jr., OK (R) Jose E. Serrano, NY (D)
Henry Bonilla, TX (R) Rosa L. DeLauro, CT (D)
Joe Knollenberg, MI (R) James P. Moran, VA (D)
Jack Kingston, GA (R) John W. Olver, MA (D)
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, NJ (R) Ed Pastor, AZ (D)
Roger F. Wicker, MS (R) David E. Price, NC (D)
George R. Nethercutt, Jr., WA (R) Chet Edwards, TX (D)

Randy "Duke" Cunningham, CA (R) Robert E. "Bud"
Cramer, Jr., AL (D)
Todd Tiahrt, KS (R) Patrick J. Kennedy, RI (D)
Zach Wamp, TN (R) James E. Clyburn, SC (D)
Tom Latham, IA (R) Maurice D. Hinchey, NY (D)
Anne Northup, KY (R) Lucille Roybal- Allard, CA (D)
Robert Aderholt, AL (R) Sam Farr, CA (D)
Jo Ann Emerson, MO (R) Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., IL (D)
Kay Granger, TX (R) Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, MI (D)
John E. Peterson, PA (R) Allen Boyd, FL (D)
Virgil Goode, VA (R) Chaka Fattah, PA (D)
John Doolittle, CA (R) Steven R. Rothman, NJ (D)
Ray LaHood, IL (R) Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., GA (D)
John Sweeney, NY (R) Marion Berry, AR (D)
David Vitter, LA (R)
Don Sherwood, PA (R)
Dave Weldon, FL (R)
Michael K. Simpson, ID (R)
John Abney Culberson, TX (R)
Mark Steven Kirk, IL (R)
Ander Crenshaw, FL (R)

For further information about the Mars Society, visit
our website at www.marssociety.org.





__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Vote for the stars of Yahoo!'s next ad campaign!
http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/yahoo/votelifeengine/

Hi everyone,
According to the Justice Talking website, the show some of us attended and asked
questions on that was taped May 11th was broadcast June 7th.  I missed it, but I
see it can be listened to online at:
http://www.justicetalking.org/viewprogram.asp?progID=443

The title was: 'Lost in Space: What is the future for NASA?'

They included a link to the Mars Society website.

Regards,
Gary Fisher

Please find a message from the Political Task Force
appealing for you much needed help, as things appear
to be at a turning point regarding the direction of
space exploration. I am placing the documents (which
Patt C. had attached to this message) in the PA yahoo
group file folder. Please contact me if you do not
have access to the attachments. Thanks.
G. Scheerbaum

Message from M.S.P.T.F.

Several weeks ago the Space Exploration Alliance was
announced.  The Space Exploration Alliance is
comprised of leading space advocacy groups,  industry
associations and space policy organizations.  It was
formed to promote NASA's new human exploration
initiative.  The collaboration for the Moon-Mars Blitz
is the opening shot illustrating the kind of campaigns
that SEA members will be undertaking to help insure
passage of the budget required to launch the new space
initiative. This is an election year.  It is
imperative that the funding for FY 05 be approved so
that the program can begin no matter what happens in
the fall.

As Dr. Zubrin stated:  "While the prioritization of
goals and the determination of technical means for
implementing the new space vision can, should, and
will be the subject of spirited debate over the coming
years, the key issue right now is getting the
initiative started. It's going to be a difficult
birth. We need to get the baby out of the operating
room alive. We can argue about where she will go to
college later."  If we do not speak out now, and the
Moon Mars Initiative goes down to defeat it may be
another 30+ years before we get out of Low Earth
Orbit.

If you've been hesitant or unsure about meeting with
your Representative and Senators, this is the perfect
opportunity.  Training will be provided and people
will go in groups to the meetings.  The partner
organizations have many years of experience in  Since
cost is always a factor, let me know if you would like
to share a  room with someone.  I will put people in
touch with each other to make the arrangements.

I challenge each state and each chapter to have at
least one member participate.  The Registration Form,
Hotel Information and Moon-Mars Blitz flyer are
attached.  Please let me know if you have any
questions.  See you in DC.

Patricia Czarnik
Administrative Director
Mars Society Political Task Force
Email: pattczarnik (AT SYMBOL) hotmail.com





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Could someone at the Penn State Chapter research who might be involved with
using Geobacter per the attached link to generate power and purify wastewater? 
I would like to contact them about being involved with the GreenHab project at
the MDRS.

Thanks,
Gary Fisher
----- Original Message -----
From: gus@...
To: GCFisheris@...
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2004 12:40 AM
Subject: Poop Power




Howdy!

Saw this and found it rather interesting:

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/astronaut_electricity_040519.html

Says "...one prototype is being used at Pennsylvania State University to
generate electricity as it purifies domestic wastewater."

Cheers!

Gus.