News

Adelaide Public Lecture - Overview of ISDC 2014

The Mars Society of Australia SA branch would like to invite you to this upcoming event - 'Overview of the International Space Development Conference 2014 – A Space Renaissance' by Mr Peter Nikoloff.  ISDC 2014 is one of the major conferences the National Space Society run each year and draws a large number of high profile and respected presenters from both NASA, Industry and Associations. I recently attended the conference that was held in Los Angeles which covered a wide range of topics over five days. An overview of the conference will be provided with a focus on Mars related topics. The presentation will be held on Sunday 1st June 2014 at 6 pm at Nova Systems, 27-31 London Road, Mile End South, SA  5031.

Speaker Bio: Pete Nikoloff is an Executive Director, co-founder of Nova and Senior Weapons System Engineer. He obtained an Aeronautical Engineer degree from RMIT in 1986 and has over 25 years experience supporting and...

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Arkaroola Mars Robot Challenge Spaceward Bound Expedition

The Arkaroola Mars Robot Challenge Expedition is the latest of a series of expeditions run by Mars Society Australia (MSA) since its inception in 2001. Destinations of previous expeditions have included the Pilbara, Woomera, and the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, as well as Arkaroola

The aims of the Arkaroola Mars Robot Challenge are:

1.    Test a range of field robotics at Arkaroola with the goal of developing concepts for planetary operations, especially Mars.  Participants include Murdoch University (WA), confirmed), University of New South Wales, Mars Society India, and MSA.

2.    Test control of remote robotic and human field operations at Arkaroola from centralised mission control run by Saber Astronautics from a control room in Sydney

3.    Explore astrobiological features of the Arkaroola region.  These include Proterozoic stromatolites, organicirich, and fossiliferous vein systems, a fossil subglacial radioactive hydrothermal systems, and...

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Free Public Lecture in Adelaide this Sunday

"SPACE LAW AND THE HUMAN SETTLEMENT OF MOON AND MARS"

The Mars Society Australia's South Australian branch is pleased to present a free public lecture by Dr RIcky Lee, Special Counsel, Scweizer Kobras (Sydney). 

 

WHEN:  Sunday 4th May 2014 at 6 pm

 

PRESENTATION ABSTRACT:

The history of space exploration and commercialisation has so often repeated the process of developing strategies and plans that do not address legal issues and then finding that such legal issues may become disabling obstacles. With the development of strategies to establish colonies on the Moon and Mars, legal issues must be addressed from the beginning. This is particularly the case because one of the foundations of modern society is the rule of law and this must remain the same for our extraterrestrial colonies.This paper seeks to consider the activities needed for various stages of colonisation and review the...

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Adelaide Guest Lecture: Was Mars Ever Alive?

Exciting discoveries are continually being made on our sister planet, Mars. NASA's rovers plus orbiting satellites have revealed many, often unexpected features.  Bright ice exists only 50cm below the surface.  Martian river networks formed under semiarid climates, when floods alternated with long dry spells. Liquid surface water lasted at least 10,000 years. Strange vertical shafts cutting through lava flows may be windows into lava tunnels. Could these contain life? The newly arrived Curiosity is already increasing our understanding of Martian long history.

(Guest Lecture followed by monthly Adelaide branch meeting).

Assoc. Prof. Victor Gostin, M.Sc. (Melb), PhD (ANU)

Victor Gostin is a retired Associate Professor and an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow in Geology and Geophysics at the University of Adelaide, Australia. A graduate of Melbourne University with a PhD from the ANU, Canberra, Victor lectured in earth sciences at Adelaide University from 1970 to...

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13th Australian Space Science Opens Monday - REGISTER NOW!

The 13th Australian Space Science Conference (ASSC) will be held in Sydney next week at the University of NSW, beginning Monday, 30th September.  This will be the seventh ASSC jointly sponsored and organised by the National Committee for Space and Radio Science (NCSS) and the National Space Society of Australia (NSSA), with the support of the Australian Space Research Institute (ASRI) The ASSC is intended to be the primary annual meeting for Australian research relating to space science. It welcomes space scientists, engineers, educators, and workers in Industry and Government.  This year the ASSC will be run in association with the Mars Society of Australia, and will include a session stream on Mars related topics.

Find out more and register at the ASSC Homepage.

 

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Mars Society Launches Inspiration Mars Student Design Competition

Today during the 16th Annual International Mars Society Convention, the Mars Society announced the launch of an international engineering competition for student teams to propose design concepts for the architecture of the Inspiration Mars mission. The contest is open to university engineering student teams from anywhere in the world. 

Inspiration Mars Executive Director Dennis Tito and Program Manager Taber MacCallum were present for the announcement. “Inspiration Mars is looking for the most creative ideas from engineers all over the world," said Tito. "Furthermore, we want to engage the explorers of tomorrow with a real and exciting mission, and demonstrate what a powerful force space exploration can be in inspiring young people to develop their talent. This contest will accomplish both of those objectives."

The requirement is to design a two-person Mars flyby mission for 2018 as cheaply, safely and simply as possible. All other design variables are open. 

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Mars Society & EU-INTERACT Cooperate on Climate Research at FMARS

The Mars Society is pleased to announce that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (EU-INTERACT) to use the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) on Devon Island in northern Canada, approximately 900 miles from the North Pole, as one of the network’s field stations. FMARS is a unique Mars analog research station established by the Mars Society in July 2000 to serve as a key element in support of various studies of technologies, strategies, architectural design and human factors involved in proposed human missions to the Red...

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Mars Society Launches Effort to Conduct One-Year Mission in the Canadian High Arctic

The Mars Society announced today that it is initiating an effort to conduct a one-year simulated human Mars exploration mission in the Canadian high Arctic at its Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS). Situated at 75 degrees north, roughly 900 miles from the North Pole, FMARS is located adjacent to a 20 kilometer meteor impact crater in the midst of a polar desert that is known to represent one of the most Mars-like environments on Earth. By conducting a Mars surface mission simulation at FMARS of the same duration as is needed for an actual expedition to the Red Planet, the Mars Society will take a major step forward towards learning how humans can most effectively explore the new interplanetary frontier.

The Mars Society plan, called Mars Arctic 365 (MA365), is divided into two phases. Scheduled to commence this July, the first phase will accomplish the refit of FMARS and enhance the facility’s equipment, enabling it to support an effective one-year mission, which...

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Opinion: ‘Yes, No and Careful’ to Dennis Tito’s Bold Mars Expedition

Now that the initial public reaction to Dennis Tito’s press release about his  Inspiration Mars plan has died down, it’s time to take a good look at the nuts and bolts of this idea. In case you missed it, Tito and a group of aerospace manufactures and NASA scientists are proposing to send two people on a 1.4 year Mars flyby in 2018, using a combination of off-the-shelf hardware but with some needed development.  

The detailed work, presented in a paper to IEEE Aerospace conference in March, shows that these people are serious, and have spotted an unusual (these 1.4-year solutions only appear every 15 years) opportunity for a remarkable adventure. It’s early days, of course, but I have mixed feelings about the mission as it stands. On the...

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TasMars Features on Sunrise Program

The Australasian TasMars expedition is now coming to an end after a highly successful two week mission.  Crew members included California based Australian engineer David Willson and Melbourne engineer Emma Braegen.  The expedition included a report on Channel 7's Sunrise Program 'Mission to Mars', which may be viewed online here.

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