Thursday / 22 May 2003

Lunar Sessions at the International Space Development Conference in San Jose CA 23-26 May. The sessions will be chaired by NSS member and president of the Long Island Space Society Arthur P. Smith. They start on Saturday 24 May at 8:00 AM PDT with a presentation on lunar solar power by David Criswell, Director of the Institute for Space Systems Operations at University of Houston. A 90-minute panel on using lunar resources to develop solar power follows Criswell's talk at 9:00. At 10:30, JPL mathematician Martin Lo proposes a lunar sample return mission. At 11:00, Yuki Takahashi, a PhD candidate in the Department of Physics at UC Berkeley, presents his plan for a lunar radio telescope. At 11:30 Claudio Maccone of Alenia Spazio discusses plans for a lunar farside radio lab. The lunar track breaks for lunch at noon to join other ISDC attendees for a luncheon presentation by Rex Ridenoure on the Rocketcam. At 2:00 Lynn Harper, General Manager of NASA Ames Astrobiology Academy, speaks on "Beyond the Planet of Origin." At 3:00 space author Marianne Dyson presents "Moon Science 101." The Saturday Moon track finishes with a 4:00 talk by Randall Severy of the Moon Society and the Artemis Society. One additional lunar session will be held on Sunday at 4:00 when Susmita Mohanty of MoonFront discusses lunar base architecture. Full ISDC program details are at www.nsschapters.org/isdc/2003.

Author Focuses on Moon, Mars Analog Sites. Patricia Dickerson is presenting a paper at the Colorado School of Mines' 'Workshop on Analog Sites for Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars' in Golden. In it she says there is no phase of exploration that does not profit from research at terrestrial analog sites. An exploration progression begins with integrative interrogation on and from Earth. Enlightened reconnaissance involves testing and refining complex robotic and environmental systems at analog sites, then on the Moon before going to Phobos, Deimos or Mars. Targeted inquiry on the Martian surface would apply the investigative / integrative power of human explorers, informed by experience at analogous sites on Earth and Moon and aided by intelligent robots. The ISS can be used for imaging specific sites and for training exercises in rock / soil sample preparation in zero-G. Earth scientist / engineer astronauts should be engaged in evaluating sites, lunar base construction and designing power-generation systems for the Moon and Mars. Dickerson says there is no shortage of vision - it's there in student designers of rockets and self-configuring robots and in pioneering space explorers. http://www.mines.edu/outreach/cont_ed/analogs.htm.

Space Transportation to Leverage Fuel Cell Technology. The NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland OH is now appropriating commercial fuel cell development to space transportation applications. ElectroChem, Inc. and Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc. have both delivered prototype proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power generators to NASA JSC for performance, endurance and operational testing. "PEM fuel cells are leading the way, having emerged as the leading fuel cell technology for near-term commercial applications," says Glenn Fuel Cell Technology manager Mark Hoberecht. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that combine oxygen and hydrogen to produce electric power, leaving only water as their by-product. Alkaline fuel cells - similar to PEMs - are currently used as the primary source of electrical power on the Shuttle orbiter. Alkaline models are however old and costly, while PEM cells are lighter, safer, longer lasting, more reliable, cheaper and more powerful. They are also being developed on large-scale commercial applications. The fuel cell enterprise is being done in support of NASA's Space Launch Initiative, whose goals are to ensure the provision of space access by increasing safety, reliability and affordability. Fuel cell advocates say that one day the technology could support a return to the Moon by facilitating efficient transportation, power/communication stations and astronomical observatories. grc.nasa.gov