2020 Mars Society Convention

tahanson43206 · 2020-12-29 20:33:55

The focus for December 29 and 30 is Video 31

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZJhEFt … F&index=31

Barbara Belvisi - Interstellar Lab - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

Judging from the comments below the video, this talk is about designing a habitat.

Edit#1 ... back from listening to and then viewing the presentation ... Ms. Belvisi is an enthusiastic presenter .... The organization she's heading is about two years old, and it appears to have substantial backing. The scope of the undertaking is ambitious, but the steps to larger goals seem (to me at least) quite reasonable. The first stage will (apparently) consist of demonstrations of RV sized terrarium systems able to operate autonomously. Sites are planed for Paris, California, Saudi Arabia and another location. Long range plans include designing for Mars, and potentially even the Moon.

Dr. Zubrin asked if one of the demo domes might be considered for MRDS, and Ms. Belvisi said she would be quite interested in that idea.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-30 19:31:32)

tahanson43206 · 2020-12-31 19:58:10

The focus for December 31, 2020, and January 1, 2021, is Video 32

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGiLlzi … F&index=32

Robert Zubrin's Closing Remarks + Musical Performance by Bob McNally - 23rd Mars Society Convention

For those tuning in by cell phone, this is (probably) suitable for audio only mode.

Edit#1 .... I did both in this case, and glad I did ... Dr. Zubrin's passionate call for defeat of the Planetary Protectionist Bureaucracy was good for audio only, but the musical segment with Bob McNally is worth seeing if you can fit it into your schedue.

On to Mars!

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-01 20:04:55)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-03 19:48:24

The focus for January 2nd and 3rd is Video 33

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB1qAiZ … F&index=33

The Sustainable Offworld Network (SONet) - City State Design Contest - 23rd Mars Society Convention
Mars City State Contest Finalist Presentation

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tahanson43206 · 2021-01-03 19:51:59

The focus for January 4th and 5th is Video 34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gmi45H … F&index=34

Korolev Crater SAR - City State Design Contest - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention
Mars City State Contest Finalist Presentation

I listened to this video, and found it worth while. There are slides that go with the talk, so I presume it is even more interest if video form. That said, the audio showed (me at least) that the Korolev Crater City design team had put a lot of thought into their concept. They made liberal use of nuclear power, and from the sound of things came up with quite an attractive living arrangement for their city dwellers.

One detail I thought was interesting was the use of Nitrogen as an energy storage medium. Another detail was their expectation to harvest lots of Thorium from the mines, so that the enterprise could become self-sustaining over time.

Their ideas for governance escaped me during first listen, so I'm planning to replay that section of the presentation.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-04 20:28:28)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-06 08:50:32

The focus for January 6 and 7 is Video 35

Southern Cross - City State Design Contest - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9yKTKB … F&index=35

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-06 09:44:33)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-08 20:52:26

The focus for January 8 and 9 is Video 36

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG7nStW … F&index=36

Phlegra Prime - City State Design Contest - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

I found this to quite an interesting presentation. The team set out to plan for independence of the population from Earth support, using Thorium as the energy supply upon which everything else was built. They envisioned evolving sophistication of their manufacturing base to the equal of Earth in 2021. My assumption is that if the population is able to achieve ** that ** level of capability, they will be will on their way to keeping up with Earth for products needed locally, and they might well advance in technologies that impose themselves because of the environment.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-09 21:01:14)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-11 19:23:56

The focus for January 10 and 11 is Video 37

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnj2rFE … F&index=37

Nick Booth & Elizabeth Howell - The Search for Life on Mars - 23rd Annual Mars Society Convention

This presentation can be enjoyed with Audio only ...

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-14 15:23:32)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-12 20:48:12

The focus for January 12th and 13th is Video 38:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVd4C4h … F&index=38

Dr. Abigail Fraeman - Mars Curiosity - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

The slides in this talk are well worth seeing. Dr. Fraeman covers the early part of Curiosity's journey up Mount Sharp, and forecasts the remaining trek into a sulfur bearing region.

I would like to point out the reference:

iron bearing clay smectite
Dr. Abigail Fraeman About 11 minutes into video

I'd be interested if someone in the forum has insight into the significance of the clay bearing material for ceramics that might be fabricated on Mars.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-14 18:41:27)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-12 21:47:37

This announcement of a new Blog by the Mars Society arrived in today's email:

Mars Society Announces New Monthly Blog – Red Planet Bound
As part of its effort to promote public understanding about the importance of exploring the planet Mars and the need to establish a permanent human presence there, the Mars Society is pleased to announce the launch of a new monthly blog called “Red Planet Bound”.
Hosted on the Mars Society’s web site, the new online column is being written by Evan Plant-Weir HBSc, co-founder of The Mars Society of Canada. A passionate and long-time advocate of space exploration, Evan is also a talented writer, science communicator and content creator.
The inaugural issue of the blog is called “To Mars, For Earth”.
Your feedback about the Red Planet Bound blog is very much welcomed.

I note that the author/editor is from Canada.

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SpaceNut · 2021-01-13 18:30:42

Nice, is there a web link to it?

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-13 19:14:54

For SpaceNut .... re #110

https://www.marssociety.org/red-planet- … for-earth/

Thank you for encouraging me to look for the link! I don't know how to find it on the Mars Society site (yet) but I asked Google to find the title of the article and it popped right up!

Now I'll go and read it!

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SpaceNut · 2021-01-13 21:00:38

I went to the Mars Society home page and its on it for a spell but the red search glass after the membership area to the right allowed me to put the red planet bound into the field and it came back with a few more https://www.marssociety.org/?s=red+planet+bound
Will try to read it tomorrow during break time....

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-14 15:27:10

The focus for January 14 and 15 is Video #39:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5LEI4n … F&index=39

Russian Confinement Experiments - Anna Yusupova - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

This presentation contains slides. I remember this talk from the opening of the conference, when I was able to attend online.

A number of volunteers were provided an opportunity to test human endurance in simulated space flight conditions.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-14 18:42:44)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-16 19:07:56

The focus for January 16 and 17 is Video #40:

Mars Desert Research Station Panel - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMFP8sU … F&index=40

This is a 58 minute video ... It can be appreciated with audio only, but the slides are helpful.

The crews who've stayed at MDRS are from all around the world.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-16 19:53:13)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-16 20:43:47

The focus for January 18 and 19 is Video 41

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKVKj_a … F&index=41

This is a 29 minute talk that can be attended audio only.

Mars Ocean Analogs - Reid Stowe - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

I found the idea of a Mars Analogue ship at sea to be quite surprising and definitely interesting.

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tahanson43206 · 2021-01-21 18:27:45

The focus for January 20 and 21 is Video 42:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN7mtUR … F&index=42

University Rover Challenge - Kevin Sloan - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

This is a 1 hour presentation.

Edit#1: I'm back from "attending" the video ... The achievements by the students over the years from 2007-2019 is ** really ** impressive.

The 2020 event was brought through the final review process, and 36 teams qualified to participate at MDRS, but due to COVID it was not held.

Registrations were open for 2021 at the time of the Convention. The next registration will (hopefully) be for 2022.

Kevin Sloan suggested that teams just starting out should plan for a several year development process. The winning teams are now producing robots that are near to NASA level in sophistication On the other hand, there was a question from someone in the Philippines, and Keven Sloan encouraged them to try to form a team to take part.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-21 19:36:21)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-23 20:53:49

The focus for January 22nd and 23rd is Video 43:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgKrfqQ … F&index=43

Mars Society South Asia & Indian Rover Challenge - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

This is a 30 minute presentation.

Edit#1 What the folks working in India and the Asian region have accomplished in just a few years is amazing! In the most recent competition, there was a team from Poland in the mix.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-23 21:43:12)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-24 19:52:57

The focus for January 24th and 25th is Video 44:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wAWOnv … F&index=44

How to Protect Astronauts from Radiation - Sarah Baatout - 23rd Annual Mars Society Convention

This is a 30 minute video.

Edit#1: Back from video ...

Dr. Baatout's agency is located in Belgium ... It has been actively studying radiation for at least 60 years.

The presentation covered LEO (ISS), the Moon and Mars, as well as travel in space between objects.

This talk provides a concise summary of the issues that face astronauts exposed to radiation. There wasn't time for much in the "how to protect" category, but the web site and other resources for study were offered in the closing slides. This talk is definitely one that benefits from viewing the slides.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-24 20:33:37)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-26 18:17:51

The focus for January 26th and 27th is Video #45:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovWUnEx … F&index=45

This talk features Geoffrey Landis ... well known to many for his NASA research and for his well written Science Fiction, including numerous pieces which have appeared in Analog.

Geoffrey Landis - Memories of MIP: The First ISRU Flight Experiment - 23rd Mars Society Convention

This is a 46 minute talk ...

Correction ... the talk is 30 minutes and the question session lasted for 15 minutes. It included a (to me surprising) revelation that the winner of a poetry contest to place a poem on the Maven lander was in the panel.

I think that a lot of folks interested in engineering will enjoy Dr. Landis' presentation. The instrument they developed never flew, but the MOXIE is a 20 years later version of the exact same technology, with 200 times greater production. The Moxie is using a different pumping mechanism.

Dr. Landis spoke from his home, where a number of cats are resident, so cats were in the scene from time to time.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-26 19:42:12)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-29 18:11:46

The focus for January 28th and 29th is Video #46:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SY2ag4 … F&index=46

Mars-V Mongolian Analog Base - MARSA - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

MARSA Mongolian Aerospace Research and Science Association
Project: Mars-V Mongolian Mars Analog Base

Having been unable to attend all the Convention live, I was unaware of this project. I thought immediately (of course) of the proposal to site an Analog Research Center at the Mount Everest 5600 Meter base camp, where the atmospheric pressure on Earth nearly matches the proposed habitat pressure for Mars and for the Large Ship (See RobertDyck/Large Ship)

Edit#1: This is a 22 minute talk.

Back from attending the talk ... the key takeaway is that the Gobi Desert is thought to be an especially suitable environment for training for future Mars residents.

Apparently a number of young Mongolians are interested in volunteering to help with developing a Mars training facility.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-30 18:35:33)

tahanson43206 · 2021-01-30 18:38:10

The focus for January 30 and 31st is Video 47:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljqg64A … F&index=47

The discussion about the Polish Mars Society support of a Space Science Center in Poland.

Space Science Center - Mars Society Poland - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

This is a 31 minute talk.

The web site for the project is: https://ssc.eu/en/

The Science Center is a work in progress. The goals are quite ambitious.

Edit#1: If I understood correctly, one of the goals of the team planning this Center is to offer visitors an opportunity to wear a Mars (?space) suit for two hours.

There was a joke that this would help with post-Covid isolation of guests. Still, I liked the idea conceptually. Putting it into practice seems a bit on the challenging side. Guests planned for this facility would range in age from 4 to 99. Perhaps trying to adapt space suits to this population variety would be a good preparation for the real thing, when folks will have to wear space(Mars) suits to go outside.

The next video is a one hour panel discussion about China.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-01-30 19:07:50)

tahanson43206 · 2021-02-01 18:53:29

The focus for February 1st and 2nd is Video #48:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kIq-Qy … F&index=48

"Rising Together"

This is a one hour panel discussion about China.

Edit:

Speakers:
Angela Cui - Director, Mars Society China
Zilu Wan
Tianhong Yu
Jingnan Zhang

The speakers are appearing under the auspices of the Mars Society of China.

Back from "attending" the event .... This was an opportunity for the (relatively new) Mars Society chapter in China to introduce itself to the audience.

Dr. Zubrin participated in asking questions, along with other members of the conference committee.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-02-05 22:03:07)

tahanson43206 · 2021-02-03 19:46:53

The text below came in from the Mars Society today ...

25th Anniversary Edition of Robert Zubrin's 'The Case for Mars' Book Now Available Online
The updated 25th anniversary edition of Mars Society President & Founder Dr. Robert Zubrin's acclaimed book, "The Case for Mars", is now available for purchase online.
The Case for Mars makes living in space seem more possible than ever in this updated 25th anniversary edition, featuring the latest information on the planet's exploration and the drive to send humans there.
Since the beginning of human history, Mars has been an alluring dream—the stuff of legends, gods, and mystery. The planet most like ours, it had long been thought impossible to reach, let alone explore and inhabit. But that is changing fast.
In February 2021, the American rover Perseverance will touch down on Mars. Equipped with a powerful suite of scientific instruments—including some that will attempt to make oxygen from the Martian atmosphere—the rover also carries a helicopter that will take spectacular panoramic movies from the air. Most exciting of all, a spectrometer onboard may find evidence of fossils left behind by microbes millions of years ago, when the planet was warm and wet, proving at last that life on Earth is not unique, but a general phenomenon in the universe. Meanwhile, in Boca Chica, Texas, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has created a shipyard that is building and testing the vessels that will take humans to Mars before this decade is out.
Leading space exploration expert Robert Zubrin crafted the daring blueprint for humanity’s reach to the Red Planet twenty-five years ago, when he first published The Case for Mars. Now, in this updated edition, he looks to the future once more to describe how—in an era when the American space program and private companies like SpaceX are racing to send astronauts to Mars—our first colonies there are imminent. In the grand tradition of successful explorers, Zubrin calls for a travel-light and live-off-the-land approach to Martian settlement. He explains how scientists can use present-day technology to send humans to Mars, produce fuel and oxygen on the planet’s surface with its own natural resources, build bases and communities, and one day, terraform—or alter the atmosphere of the planet in order to pave the way for sustainable life.
As a landmark new mission opens the decisive campaign to take humans to the Red Planet, Zubrin lays out a comprehensive plan to build life on a new world.
To order The Case for Mars online, please click here.
Image/Content: Simon & Schuster

The Mars Society
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Lakewood, CO 80215 U.S.A.
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All rights reserved.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-02-03 19:47:21)

tahanson43206 · 2021-02-05 22:09:14

The focus for February 3 and 4 is Video #49

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j_k4KI … F&index=49

Space Generation Advisory Council - City State Design Contest - 23rd Annual Mars Society Convention

This is one of the Mars City-State competitors.

A comment shown in the area below the video link called attention to a detail in design of a habitat ... apparently the team was not aware that air pressure would be significant inside the structure. I'm surprised that a team would not be aware of that issue, so will watch for it.

This is a 30 minute video.

The entire presentation was given by a single speaker. The idea that I ** thought ** I heard was that the governance structure would depend upon an AI to manage the population. Later, a question asked about governance, and the speaker responded with traditional democratic elections.

A couple of ideas caught my attention ... the team decided to depend heavily on lava tubes, and the power source posited was geothermal energy.

That would be reliable and stable if it is possible. it does seem reasonable to suppose the interior of Mars retains some of the heat that existed when the planet was formed, but it's been a long time since the last volcanic eruption, so the status of inner core conditions seems unclear.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-02-06 21:10:19)

tahanson43206 · 2021-02-05 22:17:58

The focus for February 5 and 6 is Video #50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2cVMFz … F&index=50

Dr. Muhammad Akbar Hussain - City State Design Contest - 23rd Annual Mars Society Convention

This is a 30 minute video.

Edit#1: There is something in this well designed presentation for everyone in the NewMars forum. I think the dome design is well thought out.

I liked the stadium dome as an example of appropriate concern for recreational and entertainment values for a population of a million people.

So far I have not heard any of the presentations include music or performance venues, but the sports stadium could certainly serve in that role!

There was some discussion of democracy ... meetings could be held in the sports stadium, as an alternative to the pervasive use of Internet communication I would expect in any Mars city.

All in all, this was one of the better presentations.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-02-06 21:53:42)

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