New Mars Forums

Official discussion forum of The Mars Society and MarsNews.com

You are not logged in.

Announcement

Announcement: As a reader of NewMars forum, we have opportunities for you to assist with technical discussions in several initiatives underway. NewMars needs volunteers with appropriate education, skills, talent, motivation and generosity of spirit as a highly valued member. Write to newmarsmember * gmail.com to tell us about your ability's to help contribute to NewMars and become a registered member.

#76 2020-11-25 14:33:25

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,716

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

I have been watching as much as I can stand of each before seeing a trend in that they go on and on about the history and less about how the information leads the way to planning for a mars mission.
Watching a half hour of each to not get beyond this key to going to mars is disappointing.
Maybe some of the other speakers will focus less on the history....

They should focus on the use of data collected to how it supports man being able to go to mars.

Offline

#77 2020-11-27 18:24:25

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for November 27th and 28th is Video 15:

Dr. Nathaniel Putzig - Exploring Mars with Ground-Penetrating Radar - 23rd Mars Society Convention

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gve9Wz … F&index=15

(th)

Offline

#78 2020-11-27 21:25:34

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

For SpaceNut re #76

Your request for forward looking would appear to be satisfied by #14, on Mars University.

Have you had a chance to catch that one?

The agricultural focus ** really ** caught my attention  ....  With only 15 minutes to present, the gent who's heading up that discipline did not have time to say anything about how the test facilities on Earth might be adapted to develop plants for Mars.  What he ** did ** comment upon was the difficulty that would confront anyone trying to use the raw regolith.

(th)

Offline

#79 2020-11-29 18:21:55

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for November 29th and 30th is Video 16:

Aileen Yingst - Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group - 23rd Annual Mars Society Convention - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PKR3B- … F&index=16

Edit#1: This presentation included mention of the need for planning to replace communications assets at Mars. 

In addition, Dr. Yingst described an instrument she would like to see added to rovers if possible.  It would be an imaging system able to deliver centimeter or even millimeter views of terrain a kilometer away. The existing rovers contain instruments which have been adapted to deliver that kind of data when they are available for experiments beyond their primary mission.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-01 20:29:37)

Offline

#80 2020-11-29 18:42:03

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,716

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

post 77 response.

Ground penetrating radar to find water or ice has been a question mark with some solid evidence that seems to back it up to a degree from the Phoenix lander and from the orbiting satellites but we need more data set points from other on the ground direct evidence and hopefully of some depths for core analysis will be in there soon.

Offline

#81 2020-11-29 20:25:44

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

For SpaceNut re #80 which is itself a comment on Post #77 (Video 15) Ground penetrating radar

It was worth staying to the end of this 30 minute video to hear the answer regarding the next instrument to be sent (or rather, that is needed to be sent) ...

A radar that might reach as high as the GigaHertz range would provide more detail, at the expense of distance into the crust of Mars.


There were a couple of questions about lava tubes .... apparently the Sharad radar is not suitable for attempting to obtain information about where these are or what their contents might be, but (apparently) the GigaHertz radar might be able to deliver useful information.

The Star Trek fantasy sensor systems are (I gather) some distance in the future!

(th)

Offline

#82 2020-12-01 20:35:12

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

tahanson43206 wrote:

The Focus for December 1 and 2 is Video #17:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=495gyFx … F&index=17

Anastasiya Stepanova - Dry immersion experiment - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

Dr. Zubrin introduced Ms Stepanova as one of the Russian team members who helped to arrange a tour by Dr. Zubrin in Russia.

Well!  That was different!  The presentation was on a scientific study of bed rest for three days.  The mechanism was a water bed designed for the purpose. Physiological and psychological observations were made.

In the question period, Dr. Zubrin mentioned what sounded like a plan for an 8 month test of some kind, with multiple participants. I missed the details, so will watch for additional news.  I ** think ** this might be for a Devon Island tour, but that is just a guess.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-02 23:07:59)

Offline

#83 2020-12-02 17:52:26

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,716

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The Mars future missions at this time are not in planning from what I can find which last I knew was a sample return lander plus return rocket.

Offline

#84 2020-12-02 23:08:29

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The Focus for December 3 and 4 is Video #18.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXUj2XN … F&index=18

Dr. Farah Alibay - Engineering Perseverance - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention
194 views Oct 22, 2020

Edit#1: This is a session packed with visuals.  Dr. Alibay provides an energetic overview of the development of the Mars bound rover, and two of the backup systems on Earth that will be used to test software and procedures before uploading or deploying them to Mars.

One of the rovers is an exact match, so it can test software patches.

The other is 1/3 the mass of the full sized rover, so it can be used to evaluate physical challenges that will occur.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-05 12:41:21)

Offline

#85 2020-12-03 17:53:58

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,716

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

Will see how far I can watch before getting turned off.

Offline

#86 2020-12-05 12:38:08

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 5 and 6 is Video 19:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3ltZK8 … F&index=19

Dr. Vandi Verma - Operating Robots on Mars - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

Edit#1: If anyone is interested in trying out for a position as a rover driver, this video will provide a concise overview of the responsibilities of the position and the training regimen, which (it turns out) can take several years.

Dr. Verma covered several rovers which have been deployed on Mars, as well as plans for Perseverance.   

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-06 21:38:27)

Offline

#87 2020-12-06 21:36:01

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 7 and 8 is Video #20:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAArZkM … F&index=20

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter - J. Bob Balaram - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

This talk included video of testing on Earth, and details of packaging for launch and the launch itself.  Plans for test activity are shown with slides.

This experiment is planned to conclude after 30 Sols.  The helicopter will then be abandoned so the rover can proceed on its mission.

There are several alternatives the engineering team might pursue, depending upon how the testing on Mars proceeds. 

The Q&A session included questions about the possibility of using balloons and a dirigible on Mars.  As I understood Dr. Balaram's response, the helicopter provides precision that the other devices do not, but he emphasized that those vehicle types may well have a place in the exploration of Mars.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-07 21:54:13)

Offline

#88 2020-12-08 20:37:56

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,716

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

Offline

#89 2020-12-09 20:50:59

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 9 and 10 is Video #21:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee71sRy … F&index=21

Kelvin Manning - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

Kennedy Space Center ... multiuser space port

Note: We apologize for the quality of the sound.  Our speaker had a poor microphone

From the 23nd Annual International Mars Society Convention, held as a Virtual Convention worldwide on the Internet from October 15-18, 2020. It was a historic and record event for the Mars Society with over 10,000 attendeees, 150 speakers, and over 100,000 viewers.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-09 20:58:15)

Offline

#90 2020-12-09 21:12:17

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,716

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

70 days and counting down for the helicopter to see its landing on mars with persevance.... The testing and packaging technology to make a helicopter was something in the topic you would get but it still was for some one that did not know anything about flying a helicopter on mars for how hard it is was what you would need to see to believe that we can fly on mars.

The next video to watch took until 15 to 16 minute time frame and up came in the frames "another spacenut" with plenty of history with detailed path that NASA is on to convert from a shuttle o having a totally different system to go to mars. What was needed in tradition and not so trditional rockets to make it happen with in a budget while its ballooning the cost of operations of Nasa is quickly getting eaten up.

Offline

#91 2020-12-11 23:15:07

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 11 and 12 is Video 22

I just finished "attending" the session by Rick Tumlinson, and he is in classic form!  This is a session to cheer the heart of a space advocate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFZLTRV … F&index=22

Rick Tumlinson - How Do We Make Humans to Mars Happen? - 23rd Annual Mars Society Convention

23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention
The Mars Society
22 / 130

Here's a bit more about Rick Tumlinson ... he's an institution in the space advocacy community ...

Rick Tumlinson - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Rick_Tumlinson

Rick Tumlinson is the co-founder of several space companies and non-profits including Deep Space Industries, Orbital Outfitters, the New Worlds Institute, and the Space Frontier Foundation. He is an active space entrepreneur and space activist.

Background · Contributions and projects

Rick N. Tumlinson - Founding Partner - SpaceFund | LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com › ricktumlinson

The Founder of Deep Space Industries (a space resources company) he co-founded the Space Frontier Foundation, called “pound for pound the most effective ...


Rick N. Tumlinson (@RocketRick) · Twitter

https://twitter.com/RocketRick

Expanding humanity into space is like the ant moving out from under the descending foot of God - it begins the shift from passive victim to active participant in the Universe. apple.news/AQ_VKY8BnQoG…

Twitter · 17 hours ago

A Free & noble people are bound not just by the laws they create, but mutual respect, and the inherent agreements between them that everyone will both follow those laws and respect the outcomes of the legal processes they have developed to enforce and support those laws. RNT

And here is a list of Rick Tumlinson's appearances on TheSpaceShow.com

Broadcast 3065 Frank White & Rick Tumlinson | Friday 16 Feb 2018

Broadcast 2183 (Special Edition) | Sunday 09 Feb 2014

Broadcast 1378 (Special Edition) | Sunday 13 Jun 2010

Broadcast 1234 (Special Edition) | Sunday 04 Oct 2009

Broadcast 1017 (Special Edition) | Monday 15 Sep 2008

Broadcast 670 (Special Edition) | Thursday 15 Feb 2007

Broadcast 411 (Special Edition) | Sunday 06 Nov 2005

Broadcast 405 (Special Edition) | Sunday 16 Oct 2005

Broadcast 179 (Special Edition) | Tuesday 16 Dec 2003

Broadcast 78 (Special Edition) | Wednesday 30 Oct 2002

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-11 23:21:55)

Offline

#92 2020-12-14 14:15:25

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 13 and 14 is Video 23


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDqsByk … F&index=23

Nexus Aurora - Mars City State Design Contest - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

The Zoom screen was filled with participants ... I haven't watched the video yet, but assume the folks on the screen were members of the winning team.

Edit#1 (after viewing video) ... The presentation covered all the bases for setting up a city/state on Mars.

This forum has (of course) covered many of these topics over 20 years of discussion.  The video presentation has an advantage of graphics to convey complex ideas.  I'd definitely be interested in any observations forum contributors might have about the presentation, especially as it might dovetail with forum discussions.

One of the points that Rick Tumlinson made in his presentation is that space advocates have been re-inventing the wheel in regular cycles over decades.

Perhaps these younger participants will get a chance to try out their ideas for real.  One concept that I didn't fully grasp was making material to contain the pressure of a habitat using basalt fibers.  There was a Q&A inquiry about that, and I got the impression from the reply that the presenter was thinking of a habitat shell on the order of 10 cm thick, made of a thick network of basalt fibers able to withstand the pressure of gas inside the habitat.

One of the illustrations showed what I assumed was a habitat with a glass roof, and I noted that the design looked a ** lot ** like what one might build on Earth, if the only force to be confronted is gravity. 

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-14 23:02:26)

Offline

#93 2020-12-15 22:13:15

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 15 and 16 is Video 24

Space Nuclear Power for Mars - David Poston

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luQfEYs … F&index=24

Edit#1: Back from watching the video

This packed 30 minutes should be of great interest to anyone who is interested in fission power for Mars.

The slides are dense so you may want to listen once and then go back to read the slides by pausing the video.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-16 22:24:28)

Offline

#94 2020-12-16 22:25:00

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 17 and 18 is Video 25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kleqHp … F&index=25

China in Space - Dean Cheng - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

This is a talk that can be played on a cell phone .... Dean Cheng delivers the entire talk without visuals.

That said, it seems to me worth while to listen to the presentation, because there does not appear to be much chance of cooperation in space projects.

I'd have to replay the video to be sure, but I ** think ** I heard a "rule of thumb" that if there are three Chinese in one place, one will be a member of the communist party.  If I heard that correctly, it was probably offered in a hint of humor, but it was probably not far off.

Another interesting observation was that the Nation has moved from a time when students were told what studies to take, to a much more Western style competitive environment in which competing industries advertise for needed skills.

There is no reason to expect that a Chinese space habitat on the Moon (or anywhere) would be open to non-Chinese.

Another observation is that in a conflict over Taiwan, it would be inconvenient for the Chinese to lose satellite service.  it would be catastrophic for the Americans. While it was not explicitly stated, the possibility that ALL satellite service would be disabled was implied if that would give China an edge.

I'd be interested in any other points made by Dean Cheng that other listeners think worth mentioning.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-19 21:20:12)

Offline

#95 2020-12-19 14:17:21

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 19 and 20 is Video 26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SkMl3H … F&index=26

Search for Life on Mars Panel - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

The Mars Society
20.8K subscribers
Panelists:
Dr. Reut Abramovich
Dr. Chris McKay
Dr. Carol Stoker
Dr. Robert Zubrin

Moderated by: Nicole Willett, Mars Society Steering Committee member & high school science teacher

This video can be played on a cell phone to good effect.  There were no visuals other than the panelists themselves. 

This was a spirited and highly informative discussion.  There was a disagreement about planetary protection .... I came away with the impression the risk is NOT so much a severe pathogen (as I had assumed previously) but ** instead ** the possibility that life on Mars might be successful on Earth, and that since it would have no natural predators, it would succeed the way that rabbits have succeeded in certain areas, or kudzo in Florida.

I should note that Dr. Zubrin was granted a significant amount of time for him to present his point of view, after which Dr. McKay expressed mild irritation.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-20 23:13:04)

Offline

#96 2020-12-19 15:00:20

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,716

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

I to a look at the video for post 93 of "Space Nuclear Power for Mars - David Poston" and while its starts out with many of the slides we have put into our topics including the Krusty reactor its one along the many that will inch its way to a small reactor for mars that is considered safe to bring and use.

Offline

#97 2020-12-20 23:14:16

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 21 and 22 is Video 27

This video features an interview with George Whitesides ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N70Pau4 … F&index=27

George Whitesides - Virgin Galactic - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

Edit#1: This was a 27 minute video .... Mr. Whitesides showed slides, but I found the audio perfectly satisfactory, because the word pictures that go with the slides are enough for a listener who has seen all the images before in other contexts.  The ** really ** interesting part of the talk (for me for sure) was the section on the history of human exploration of the Pacific Ocean.  I was familiar with much of this history, but not with the exploration of the region around Australia, many thousands of years before the South Pacific islanders sailed to the many islands in that region.  The point of the history reminder was to set the stage for what we may reasonably expect after humans achieve frequent departure from Earth.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-22 21:04:55)

Offline

#98 2020-12-23 18:27:55

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 23 and 24 is Video 28

This video features an interview with Loretta Whitesides, Founder of Uri's Night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNTQ4w8 … F&index=28

Loretta Whitesides - Bringing Your Best Self to Mars - 23rd Annual Mars Society Convention

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides
Headshot 2019 DesertPreserve warm.jpg
Alma mater    Stanford University
California Institute of Technology
International Space University
Website    www.lorettawhitesides.com

Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides is a public speaker, co-creator of Yuri's Night, and an author on space exploration. She accumulated over five hours of weightless time as a Flight Director for Zero-G Corporation, and plans to travel to space as a "Founder Astronaut" on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo with her husband George T. Whitesides.[1]

Whitesides received a bachelor's degree in biology from Stanford and a master's from Caltech,[2] with a particular interest in astrobiology. In relation to that work she appeared in the 3D IMAX documentary "Aliens of the Deep" alongside director James Cameron traveling to hydrothermal vents two miles under the ocean. She has also visited Haughton impact crater in the arctic to study plants surviving in extreme environments.[3] In addition, she has given numerous TEDx talks about space exploration and personal development.

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Yuri's_Night
Yuri's Night is an international celebration held every April 12 to commemorate milestones in space exploration. It is named for the first human to launch into space, Yuri Gagarin, who flew the Vostok 1 spaceship on April 12, 1961.

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Yuri's_Night
Yuri's Night is an international celebration held every April 12 to commemorate milestones in space exploration. It is named for the first human to launch into space, Yuri Gagarin, who flew the Vostok 1 spaceship on April 12, 1961.

Edit#1: I'm back from listening to Loretta's talk ... she had slides, but I found the talk quite satisfying in listen-only mode.  Loretta spent some time talking about Yuri's night, and she included a bit of the most recent event which was done online.  She answered an audience question about something similar for women who were first in space (Soviet - Japanese) and said there is something happening along those lines.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-23 19:52:05)

Offline

#99 2020-12-26 19:31:57

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 25 and 26 is Video 29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2baDGT … F&index=29

Taber MacCallum - Space Perspective - 23rd Annual International Mars Society Convention

This is a 24 minute presentation.

Reference:

ABOUT US - Space Perspectivethespaceperspective.com › aboutus
... maybe the most significant changes in humanity's self-perception, knowing our place in this universe, Carl Sagan's iconic pale blue dot, the space perspective.

Edit #1: Back from listening to the presentation .... for those who can fit this talk into their schedule, there are (apparently) plenty of images that go with the talk about the balloon-to-the-edge-of-space commercial initiative that is in development.  I had to do some chores so listened instead of watching, but I'm definitely looking forward to watching.


(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-26 20:13:07)

Offline

#100 2020-12-26 20:14:47

tahanson43206
Moderator
Registered: 2018-04-27
Posts: 16,651

Re: 2020 Mars Society Convention

The focus for December 27 and 28 is Video 30

This presentation is about the Israeli Moon landing that came ** so ** close to success.

There are lots of images that go with this talk as well.

SpaceIL - Yonatan Winetraub - First Private Moon Mission - 23rd Annual Mars Society Convention

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64OBYYw … F&index=30

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-12-26 20:16:33)

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB