Good day,

Remarks by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin at the National Space Symposium

Reading Robert A. Heinlein's "THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS" and thinking about the politics of going to the Moon and what it will be like when we get there.
- LRK -

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_is_a_Harsh_Mistress

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is a 1966 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein about a lunar penal colony's revolt against rule from Earth. It received the Hugo Award for best novel.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Snip
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My thanks to Joe Sanders for suggesting that if I hadn't read the book I might be interested in doing so, and seeing how the Moon was developed economically. I had not, and ordered four of Heinlein's books from Amazon.com. Three have arrived and now the days go even faster. :-) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312863551/102-6440331-3584910
- LRK -

Google is watching for references to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and picks up items for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as well. In this case the item was found in Mike Griffin's talk to the U.S. Space Foundation last week.

Need all the press we can get about exploring space. More books, movies, 6 o'clock reports, and the like.
- LRK -

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Google Alert for: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Remarks by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin at the National ...
Space Ref - USA
... We've established an architecture for lunar return. ... of icy geysers on Enceladus, the successful orbital insertion of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the ...
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=20189
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04.06.06 - Administrator's April 6 Remarks to the U.S. Space Foundation When I became NASA’s 11th Administrator a year ago, I had several goals that I wanted to accomplish by the end my term of service.
+ View Transcript (33 Kb PDF)
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/146291main_NationalSpaceSymposium_new.pdf
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See snip below or links above.
- LRK -

Jeroen Lapre' is still working on his short movie about Maelstrom II.
An independent short science fiction movie project, based on the short story by Arthur C. Clarke.
http://www.maelstrom2themovie.com/


Remember some of you having ideas for TV as well.

Well here is to a Martian Day, every second counts, and a lot more politics.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_trilogy
Mars trilogy
>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cover of Red Mars

The Mars trilogy is a series of three science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson, chronicling the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars.
The novels are Red Mars (1992), Green Mars (1993) and Blue Mars (1996). An additional collection of short stories was published as The Martians (1999).

Snip
Plot

Red Mars starts in 2026 with the first colonial voyage to Mars. Later, "the First Hundred" colonists (composed — for the most part — of Russians and Americans) establish the first settlement on Mars (called "Underhill") and lay the groundwork for more scientists and engineers to follow. However, due to the greed of the transnational corporations, which dominate and control the nation states of Earth, the new Martian towns become overcrowded and undermaintained. Several cases of sabotage of terraformation infrastructure occur, blamed on anti-terraforming forces. The situation results in a violent revolution in 2061, in which many of the First Hundred are killed, and much of Mars' infrastructure, notably the space elevator, is destroyed. Most of the surviving members of the First Hundred are forced into hiding in the "underground".

Green Mars takes its title from the stage of terraforming that has taken place allowing plants to grow. It picks up the story from Red Mars, following the lives of the remaining First Hundred (and their children and grandchildren). The "underground" starts to develop ideas of a new type of society, an anti-thesis of the metanational order at that time. This culminates into the Dorsa Brevia agreement, in which nearly all the "underground" factions take part. Preparations are made for second revolution begins in the 2120s.

Blue Mars takes its title from the stage of terraforming that has taken place allowing atmospheric pressure and temperature to increase so that liquid water can exist on the planet's surface, forming rivers and seas. It follows on from the end of Green Mars and has a much wider scope than the previous two books, covering an entire century after the second revolution and showing the spread of human settlements across the solar system—a process Robinson terms the Accelerando. One major event is a sudden, catastrophic rise in global sea levels caused not by any greenhouse effect, but by the eruption of a chain of volcanoes underneath the ice of west Antarctica, melting it all away.
Snip
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553560735/102-6440331-3584910
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Thanks for looking up.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsltr.: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update

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http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=20189

Remarks by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin at the National Space Symposium STATUS REPORT Date Released: Thursday, April 6, 2006
Source: NASA HQ

6 April 2006

When I became NASA's 11th Administrator a year ago, I had several goals that I wanted to accomplish by the end my term of service. As I stated at my Senate confirmation hearing, my priorities in executing the duties of my office, consistent with the President's Vision for Space Exploration, are:

1. Flying the Shuttle as safely as possible until its retirement, not later than 2010.
2. Bringing a new Crew Exploration Vehicle into service as soon as possible after Shuttle retirement.
3. Developing a balanced overall program of science, exploration, and aeronautics at NASA, consistent with the redirection of the human spaceflight program to focus on exploration.
4. Completing the International Space Station in a manner consistent with our International partner commitments and the needs of human exploration.
5. Encouraging the pursuit of appropriate partnerships with the emerging commercial space sector.
6. Establishing a lunar return program having the maximum possible utility for later missions to Mars and other destinations.

Thanks to the hard work and technical excellence demonstrated by so many of you in this audience, we are well on the way to meeting these objectives.

We've established an architecture for lunar return. We have a solid plan for completing ISS. We've received proposals from contractors in response to our request for proposals for the new Crew Exploration Vehicle. And with such achievements as the Cassini's discovery of icy geysers on Enceladus, the successful orbital insertion of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the launch of our 13th expeditionary crew to the International Space Station, 2006 is shaping up to be an eventful year.

But there are enormous challenges ahead, and a lot left to do to meet them.
So, today, I'd like to talk with you about the larger rationale for our collective efforts. In short, why are we doing all this? How does space exploration serve the nation's essential interests?

When President Bush set a new course for America's space program two years ago, the White House issued a supporting document explaining why. Quoting from that policy, "The fundamental goal of this vision is to advance U.S. scientific, economic, and security interests through a robust space exploration program." I believe that this is exactly right, and that the benefits to be derived in these respects from such a program will extend well beyond our current imagination.

This last statement is out of character for an engineer, mathematician, or scientist, because it is neither provable nor refutable. But because a conjecture is scientifically unverifiable does not mean that it is not important.

Snip

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http://www.space.com/news/060405_nss_griffin.html
NASA Chief Michael Griffin Invited to China By Lon Rains Editor, Space News
posted: 05 April 2006
02:26 pm ET

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Chinese space officials have invited NASA Administrator Michael Griffin to visit their country in the fall, possibly
as early as September.

During an informal visit to NASA headquarters in Washington, April 3, Luo Ge, vice administrator of the China National Space Administration, met with Michael F. O’Brien, NASA associate administrator for external relations, to discuss a potential trip by Griffin to meet with Chinese space officials and visit their facilities, possibly as early as September.

“I made a joke with Mr. O’Brien that if we need to get married some day, we have to meet; otherwise we cannot get married,” Luo said in an interview here following his morning keynote speech April 5 at the 22nd National Space Symposium. Luo described the visit with O’Brien as “only a drop in” with two purposes:” to see an old friend” and to discuss Griffin visiting China.

“When I return to Beijing I will draft an itinerary for his visit,” Luo said. He added that a visit by Griffin would be an important first step toward future space cooperation between the two countries.

NASA spokesman Dean Acosta confirmed that China had extended an invitation to Griffin for a visit this fall and that the trip is under consideration, reiterating that there are no firm dates yet.

Chinese space officials met with former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe and other agency officials in Washington in 2004 for informal discussions, but Luo said no agreements resulted from those meetings.

In his keynote speech Luo said China is open to international cooperation in all types of space activites, including human spaceflight. He also stressed in the interview following his speech that China does have its own independent systems now for sending astronauts to space, but still welcomes cooperative efforts.

A U.S. congressional delegation—Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Rep. Rick Larsen
(D-Wash.) and Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) visited China in January. Feeny said in an interview that the most immediate area of cooperation ought to be a joint docking device that would permit Chinese spacecraft to dock with the future U.S. Crew Exploration Vehicle, the planned replacement for the shuttle, either for cooperative visits or rescue missions. Feeney also said future U.S. spacecraft should be able to dock at the space station China is planning.

Mentioning the congressional visit Luo said he too would favor a joint docking system.

* China Unveils Ambitious Space Plans at National Space Symposium
* Space Community Mourns Loss of DeLay’s Budget Influence
* Panel: NASA Needs Both Robotic and Human Missions, But Equity Missing
* Hybrid Air-Rocket Concept Touted For Rapid Launch
* 22nd National Space Symposium Begins Today

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»» ESA's Venus Express to reach final destination

[Friday, April 7, 2006] Now, after having traveled 400 million kilometres in only about five months, the Venus Express spacecraft is about to reach its final destination. The rendezvous is due to take place on 11 April.

° Full Story
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=19511

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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