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#1 2004-09-10 17:30:06
- Morris
- Banned
- From: Little Rock, Arkansas
- Registered: 2004-07-16
- Posts: 218
Re: Mars Society Convention - What happened there?
Hello again, all. I have been away for about 3 weeks taking care of my elderly parents who were admitted to the hospital at the same time. Boy do these forums move fast. When I got back, I hardly recognized the boards.
In any event, while I see a few comments about the recent Mars Society Annual meeting, I haven't gotten a good overall picture about what went on, important news, etc. Would anyone be willing to fill me in?
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#2 2004-09-10 20:16:45
- Shaun Barrett
- Member
- From: Cairns, Queensland, Australia
- Registered: 2001-12-28
- Posts: 2,843
Re: Mars Society Convention - What happened there?
Welcome back, Morris!
Sorry to hear your parents haven't been well.
Sorry to report, too, that I missed the Mars Society conference AGAIN!! this year ... :bars2: ... so I can't tell you anything about that!
I've already started whingeing to my wife about needing to go to Colorado next year.
The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping Up and Down. - Rita Rudner
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#3 2004-09-10 20:37:38
- Palomar
- Member
- From: USA
- Registered: 2002-05-30
- Posts: 9,734
Re: Mars Society Convention - What happened there?
*Glad to see you participating here again, Morris. I was going to drop a "hey -- come back" note soon. I'll add my sympathies with Shaun; sorry about your folks.
I didn't make it to the MSC either. A few folks here did, however. Perhaps they'll chime in.
Yep, the boards move swiftly. Always something interesting, tragic or just plain marvy going on in the Universe. :;):
--Cindy
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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#4 2004-09-10 22:23:21
Re: Mars Society Convention - What happened there?
It was a really great convention. There's a very long and detailed description on the Mars Society's web page and it is better than any summary I can write. I was impressed by the diversity of attendees; diversity in terms of professional backgrounds and interests, that is (not ethnically, I'm afraid). There was a very nice comraderie and tolerance of different ideas. A lot of GREAT ideas were exchanged. Zubrin had two very cool presentations, one about a carbon dioxide thermal rocket engine for a small "hopper" probe (I've described it elsewhere) and the other a tethered balloon that would be blown around the surface of Mars, its wheel being forcably rolled across the surface by the wind, thereby generating electricity to run the cameras on the balloon and the wheel, and power other instruments. Zubrin had video of the thing being tested on Mount Evans (above the tree line in a boulder field, not far from Denver). Chris McKay gave a fascinating presentation. So did the head of NASA's nuclear engine program; he said that solid-core nuclear thermal engines were possible for the Mars initiative.
-- RobS
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#5 2004-09-11 10:39:01
- Morris
- Banned
- From: Little Rock, Arkansas
- Registered: 2004-07-16
- Posts: 218
Re: Mars Society Convention - What happened there?
Thanks Sean, Cindy, Rob.
Though I am a founding member of the Mars Society, I have never been to an annual convention. Chicago, because of its central location, would have been my best chance for awhile.
Rob, thanks for the observations on what especially struck you about the convention. I have a comment on your post but think that it would best be under a new thread. I will post my reply on a thread titled "Martian Nuclear Proliferation" in the "Martian Politics" forum.
I will now have to make frequent trips to Mississippi so there will also be frequent long pauses in my responses. Alas, my laptop is with my daughter at college and my parents don't have a computer.
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