2011 Convention Schedule

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2011 MARS SOCIETY CONVENTION (Dallas)

Tentative Schedule*

Wednesday, August 3

Atrium Lobby

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Early Registration

7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Steering Committee Meeting

Thursday, August 4

Atrium Lobby

7:30 am Convention Opens, Registration, Check-in

Vendor and Display Set-up

Plenary Sessions

Pheasant Ridge Ballroom IV

9:00 am - 10:00 am                          Homer Hickam, Author ofOctober Sky
10:00 am - 11:00 am                         Dr. Paul Davies, Proponent, One-Way Mission to Mars Concept
11:00 am - 12:00 pm                         Dr. Everett Gibson, Senior Scientist, NASA Johnson Space Center, Allan Hills Meteorite
12:00 am - 1:00 pm                            Lunch Break
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm                              Rt. Rev. James Heiser, Author, Spiritual and Theological Issues related to Space Exploration
                                                               and Settlement: A Shining City on a Higher Hill (2006) and Civilization and the New Frontier (2010)
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm                              Debate: VASIMR - Silver Bullet or Hoax?
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm                              Track Sessions

Time

Track 1

Pheasant Ridge I

Track 2

Pheasant Ridge II

Track 3

Pheasant Ridge III

3:00 - 3:30

Breakthrough

Propulsion

R. Obousy

Project Icarus

Mars Technology

T. Muscatello

Mars ISRU Evaluation

Launch Systems

R. Smith

Near Future Means of Reducing Costs to Orbit-1

3:30 - 4:00

M. Barnes

Electromagnetic Field Propulsion

K. Namuduri

Guided Surface Exploration Using Rovers and Wireless Sensor Networks.

R. Smith

Near Future Means of Reducing Costs to Orbit-2

4:00 - 4:30

Mars Atmosphere

D. Roffman

Higher than Advertised Martian Air Pressure 1

J. Epstein

Water Filtration in a Planetary Environment

J. Strickland

A Mars Logistics System

4:30 - 5:00

B. Roffman

Higher than Advertised Air Pressure 2

H. Sarper

Table Top ISRU Demo

J. Strickland

Earth to Mars Logistics System

Special Activities

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm                              Reception (Cash Bar, Hors d’oeuvres) and Town Hall Meeting
  Pheasant Ridge Ballroom V

8:00 pm - 9:30 pm                              Panel: One-Way Trip to Mars, Dr. Robert Zubrin, Bruce Mackenzie, M. Fowler, and others - TBA -

                                                               Pheasant Ridge Ballroom IV

9:30 pm                                                 Book Signing

10:00 pm - midnight    Film: The Mars Underground - Special Preview of Updated Version

Friday, August 5

Atrium Lobby

7:30 am Registration, Check-in

Vendors and Displays

Plenary Sessions

Pheasant Ridge Ballroom IV

9:00 am - 9:45 am                              Dr. Humboldt Mandell, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin
9:45 am - 10:30 am                            Dr. John Hoffman, Space Scientist & Physics Professor, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Texas at Dallas, Co-Investigator of Phoenix/TEGA Mission
10:30 am - 11:15 am                         Michael Max - Methane Hydrates on Mars
11:15 am - 12:00 pm                         William Borucki, Science Principal Investigator, Kepler Mission
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm                     Lunch Break
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm                              Paul Wooster, Systems Engineer, SpaceX
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm                              Dr. Robert Zubrin, President, The Mars Society
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm                            Special Panel: Space Nuclear Power

  D. Buden, Nuclear Power and Propulsion: Keys to Mars Exploration
  Harold Finger, Creating America’s Nuclear Rockets
  S. Gunn, Closed and Open Cycle Nuclear Exhaust Conditioning In Cycle Closed Cycle Systems
  M. Williams, Blueprint for NTR Test Facilities
  E. Robinson, Approval in the Era of the New Generation Nuclear Rocket

5:00 pm Book Signing

Special Activities

Pheasant Ridge Ballroom IV

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm Panel: Initial Challenges for a Mars Colony - Joseph Palaia, Rt. Rev. James Heiser,

Bruce Mackenzie, Kramer, Hunter

8:00 pm - 9:30 pm Panel: Space and the Media, John Zarrella - CNN, Mark Whittington - Yahoo News,

Ian O’Neill - Discovery News, and Pat Duggins - National Public Radio, Alabama

9:30 pm Book Signing

Saturday, August 6

Atrium Lobby

7:30 am Registration, Check-in

Vendors and Displays

Plenary Sessions

Pheasant Ridge Ballroom IV

9:00 am - 9:45 am Dr. Nathan Bridges, Senior Staff Scientist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory,

                                                               and Co-Investigator, HiRise & MSL Chem Cam Projects
9:45 am -10:30 am                             Dr. Bruno Marino, CEO and Founder of Planetary Emissions Management, Inc.
10:30 am - 11:15 pm                         Dr. Nathaniel Owen-Going, Going Consulting Inc. -Potential Biotic and Abiotic Stresses in Martian Agriculture

                                                               and their Implications
11:15 am - 12:00 pm                         Dr. Ian O’Neill, Space Science Producer, Discovery News
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm                            Lunch Break
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm                              Dr. Melanie Correll, Plant Growth Specialist, Associate Professor, University of Florida's

Agricultural & Biological Engineering Department

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Gary Harris and Jon Rask - Mars Space Suit Update

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Track Sessions

Time

Track 1

Pheasant Ridge I

Track 2

Pheasant Ridge II

Track 3

Pheasant Ridge III

3:00 - 3:30

Advanced Technology

K. Nebergall

Orbital Refueling that Works

Human Mars Missions

Jean-Marc Salotti

Manned Mission to Mars; The 2-4-2 Concept

Exobiology

Collin Thomas

Introduction of Microbial Life to Mars Using Earth Originating Microbial Ballistics

3:30 - 4:00

G. Stephenson

X-Ray Pulsar Navigation

M. Hilton

Reasons for an International Mission to Mars

S. Jaju

Observing the Nature of Earth’s Microbes on Mars and Bringing Samples Back Safely

4:00 - 4:30

Eric Robinson and John Hunter

The Case for Hydrogen Gas Guns

S. Reiman

Ethical Approach to Practical Moral Decision Making

Education

J.Popoff

A Strategy for Enlisting Young People as Mars Explorers Using Amateur Radio

4:30 -

5:00

G. Johnson

Going to Mars, or Anywhere Else

M. Fowler

Belonging with a One-Way Ticket to Mars

J. Warren

Juvenile Book on Mars: An Exploration into Children’s Imagination.

Special Activities

Pheasant Hill Ballroom V

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm 14^th Annual International Mars Society Banquet, Dr. Ian O’Neill, Master of Ceremonies, Banquet Speaker: Dr. Ashwin R. Vasavada, Deputy Project Scientist, Mars Science Laboratory, and Special Guest - TBA (Cash Bar)

Music provided by: Glass of Class Jazz Ensemble, Houston, TX

Sunday, August 7

Atrium Lobby

8:00 am Registration, Check-in
Vendors and Displays

1:00 pm Registration Closes, Vendors and Displays Begin Breakdown

Plenary Sessions

Pheasant Ridge Ballroom IV

9:00 am - 10:00 am                            Dr. Bruce Banerdt, Lead Scientist, Geophysical Monitoring Station (GEMS), JPL
10:00 am - 11:00 am                         Dr. Jean Hunter, Associate Professor, Biological & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University
11:00 am - 12:00 pm                         Joseph Palaia, Vice President, Operations/R&D, 4Frontiers

12:00 am - 1:00 pm Lunch Break

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Kevin Sloan, Director, University Rover Challenge

2:00 pm - 2:30 pm Shannon Rupert - Mars Analog Science: Where Do We Go From Here?

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm J. Epstein - Experiences of an Expedition at MDRS

3:30 pm - 4:00 pm Closing Session - Dr. Robert Zubrin

*Last updated 7/22/11. Please note that the schedule is subject to change.

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