AMEC 2012
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12th Australian Mars Exploration Conference
14th-16th September, Canberra, AUSTRALIA
Introduction
The 12th Australian Mars Exploration Conference (AMEC2012) aims to expand the breadth and depth of scientific, technological and cultural development in support of the human exploration of Mars. Three of the world's space agencies, ESA, NASA and Roskosmos, now have plans for human flight to the red planet between now and 2030. To succeed, such missions will depend not only a great deal of scientific and technological know-how, but also on a new kind of spacefaring society - one able to bridge the gulf between worlds: a two-planet culture. To this end, in addition to scientists and technologists, I extend our invitation to the social experts, managers, writers and artists who will be instrumental in forging such a culture.
Since 2001, the AMEC conferences have been an international forum for Mars exploration. Past AMEC guests have included speakers such as Apollo 17 geologist Dr. Harrison Schmidt, space simulation expert Dr. Vadim Gushin of the Moscow Institute of Biomedical Problems and Dr. Steven Squires, Principle Investigator of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover team. AMEC conferences are run by the Mars Society Australia, an incorporated, non-profit research body that does practical research in support of an eventual human mission to Mars. MSA is affiliated with the worldwide Mars Society which has about 6,000 members.
Friday Night Public Lecture
The Mars Society Australia is delighted to announce Professor Ross Taylor will deliver the first David Cooper Memorial Lecture on 14th September. His lecture will be titled 'Are We Alone?'. This event will be held at the Woden Southern Cross Club at 7pm, and will open the 12th Australian Mars Exploration Conference (AMEC2012) to be held over the weekend of 14th-16th September. Entry will be $5. Download a lecture flyer.
The David Cooper Memorial Lecture series has been established in memory of David Cooper, co-founder and President of the Mars Society Australia, who sadly passed away in July of this year.
Conference Program
A revised conference program has now been released and may be downloaded here. (This may be subject to further revision). Confirmed speakers and presentations include the following.
- Dr Duncan Steel - 'An r-strategy Architecture for the Robotic Exploration of Mars'
- Dr Jonathan Clarke - ''Could an Unmanned Rover Find Evidence for Life in the Pilbara?'
- Mr David Willson - 'Ice Dragon and Icebreaker Missions: A Paradigm Shift in Mars Exploration' & 'Off-World Field Science Performance: Results from the Pilbara Space Suit Trials'
- Dr Colin Paine - 'Characterisation of Slope Morphology and Evolution on Mars'
- Mr Steven Hobbs - 'The Influence of Slope Morphology on Gully Flows: Terrestrial Gullies in Lake George as Analogues for Mars' and 'Mars’O Bot - A Mars Society Australia Robotics Project'
- Mr Mike Bodnar - 'The Illusion of Mars'
- Ms Haritina Mogosanu - 'ArcGIS goes to Mars' & 'KiwiMars 2012: A Planetary Sciences Education Drill'
- Ms Annalea Beattie - 'Art in Space : Human Factors Mars Exploration'
- Mr Shaun Moss - 'Moonmars.com'
- Mr Mark Gargano - 'Australia and a Martian Curricula: Mars in Education'
- Douglas Kirk & Andy Marriot - '"The Mission" - An Australian Feature Film Project Looking for Technical and Creative Advice'
Registration Process
Registering for AMEC2012 online is a 2-step process.
- Create a user account for this website if you do not already have one, and log into your new account. If you are an existing Mars Society Australia member, log into your existing members account.
- Once you have logged in, proceed to our AMEC registration page. This will allow you to register and pay online both for AMEC, and the conference banquet.
Further Information
The convenor of AMEC2012 is Dr Jonathan Clarke. Any queries regarding the conference should be directed to Jonathan at president(at)marssociety.org.au. (Please replace "(at)" with @).
AMEC 2012 will be held at the Southern Cross Club, Woden, ACT. You can find out more at the Southern Cross Club's web site (link shown below). There is free on-site parking available. The conference banquet will also be held at the Southern Cross Club on the evening of Saturday 15th September. (Futher details to be announced.)
Accommodation will be at the discretion of the individual. We advise booking online through a number of accommodation agencies, such as www.visitcanberra.com.au , http://www.wotif.com/ , and hotels/australia-canberra-hotels.html
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