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The main current Mars Society news are listed below. We also have these other news listings:
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(News from Mars Society chapters activities) - Other News (Non Mars Society Mars/Space news)
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Mars Society News
Up one levelDue to budgetary overruns, NASA and Congress may cancel the Mars Science Laboratory, which is scheduled to be launched to Mars in October of 2009 - in a decision that could be made as soon as Friday! This 9-foot long rover is far more capable than the twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and will contain the most impressive array of instruments and experiments that has ever been sent to Mars. It will be able to look for the building blocks of life. All previous Mars missions have been leading up to this one. UPDATE: Any letters sent to Congress through 10:30 a.m. eastern time on Oct. 10 should be re-sent immediately. The system uses the house.gov web server to look up representatives, and that system is currently being overwhelmed by people upset with the financial bailout. As a result, letters sent to Congress were not properly generated. We apologize for the inconvenience, and have now implemented a workaround that will allow all letters to be sent.
Announcing Print-On-Demand book publishing of full papers from the Mars Society Conventions 2005-2008.
Submit your Mars Society Convention presentation for electronic publication in the MarsPapers Archive.
Over the weekend, the flight system was successfully flight commissioned and the MIRIAM entry vehicle assembled and packed. On Monday morning, the Entry Vehicle was finally installed within the Service Module and the clamp ring was locked. The system is now ready for deployment in space.
The Mars Society has extended formal congratulations to SpaceX, after Flight 4 of the Falcon 1 vehicle successfully reached orbit last night.
German Mars Society Performs Flight System Commissioning Tests on MIRIAM
After receiving the proper trajectory file from MORABA and finding that no flight sequence modifications are necessary for successful operation, we proceeded with flight system commissioning tests. We tested failure modes and nominal missions. Despite a successful commissioning earlier this week, two potentially hazardous problems resulting from software upgrades were discovered and fixed.
It's hard to believe that a month has passed since that day in August, when The Mars Society took on TEMPO3 as their latest project. The last four weeks have been spent pulling a team together, and getting word out to the world that the project is underway. Progress has been made on several fronts, but much remains to do.
The MIRIAM Instrument Pod, Service Module and Camera Module each underwent a complete flight simulation test cycle on September 18 at our own lab and the DLR field center Oberpfaffenhofen.
The MIRIAM Service Module and Camera Module were vibration tested last Friday, September 12, at IABG's Space Test Center of Ottobrunn, Germany.
In Memoriam: MDRS Veteran Grant Waller
Grant Waller, a veteran of MDRS Crew 59 and father of founding member Stacy Sklar, succumbed to cancer Monday evening.
SpaceX Hiring For Texas Facility
Mars Society member Derek Andreas, who has been working at SpaceX's Texas Test Site since February, is looking to recruit fellow members of the Society to work at that facility, as well as in other positions throughout the SpaceX organization.
The Mars Society is now seeking crew members for the 8th season of field operations at the Mars Desert Research Station, scheduled to run between November 2008 and April 2009. Come and join one of the world's longest-running and most successful space simulation projects!
Since the Space Debate that took place at the recent Mars Society convention in Boulder on August 14th, there has been an unprecedented amount of discussion about space policy coming from the candidates and their campaigns. While this sudden flurry of space support is indicative of how tight this race has become, it is also a tremendous opportunity for the space community to make sure that humans to Mars will become the official policy of an Obama or McCain administration.
ARCHIMEDES News: Magnetic Field Simulation Test Full Success
Dear Friends of Project ARCHIMEDES, on Friday, August 22, Miriam's Instrument Pod was successfully tested at IABG's Magnetic Field Simulation Facility near Munich, the largest of its kind in the world.
Photo Gallery From 11th Annual International Mars Society Convention Available
Member Ben Huset, who was responsible for filming the presidential space debate at the convention, has now made a gallery of still photos from the convention available on the web.
After receiving the highest number of votes cast by members of the Mars Society and the endorsement of the Steering Committee, Hill's concept to launch a microsatellite that will test artificial gravity generation techniques - which will be of immense value to the crew of a six-month flight to Mars - was named the winner of the MPC Saturday evening at the 11th Annual International Mars Society Convention.
A full streaming video recording of last night's presidential space debate, moderated by space journalist Leonard David and featuring Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham for Senator John McCain's side and former NASA Associate Administrator Lori Garver for Senator Barack Obama's side, is now available on the Mars Society web site.
The Republican and Democratic parties have created systems where you can express an opinion on what should appear on their national platforms. This is a terrific opportunity for the space community to remind both campaigns that destination-driven human space flight is not only vital to the interests of the United States, but that there are a LOT of constituents who support such programs.
The Mars Society is proud to announce the selection of ten finalists in our Mars Project Challenge. The goal of the MPC was to collect ideas from our members for the next Mars Society project; a project that will provide a REAL contribution to future human missions to Mars.
NASA announced recently that the Phoenix lander, launched on a mission to the northern polar region of the Red Planet in August 2007, had detected water ice during the first of many chemical analyses planned during the three month mission. In addition, initial mineralogy experiments have revealed a striking similarity between Martian soil and the soil found in the Antarctic region of Earth. The significance of these findings cannot be overstated. Liquid water and chemical energy are essential for life, and in the presence of these two, as Dr. Wesley Huntress once remarked: "Life may be a cosmic imperative."
Contained Smart Folders:
- Expired News — by Jean Lagarde — last modified 2007-06-05 00:50
- Expired news, newsletters, press releases (i.e. of mostly historical value).
8th European Mars Conference - Columbus: Quest for a New World
URGENT: Mobilize to Save the Mars Science Laboratory!
