News

Concrete Slab Poured For Rover Laboratory

The long awaited laboratory for the Starchaser Marsupial Manned Analog Rover has begun to be constructed. The concrete slab has been poured and it is expected the shed structure will be commenced this week. Photos will follow soon. For more details on the Starchaser Rover visit the Starchaser Marsupial homepage at www.marsupial.org.au.
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Starchaser Marsupial Rover: Stage 2 is Go

Project Marsupial, the MSA's analogue rover construction project, has received a giant boost with the news that Starchaser Industries, a UK aerospace firm, will fully fund Stage 2 of the innovative project. Starchaser has donated A$41,000 and secured naming rights to the rover, which will henceforth be called the Starchaser Marsupial Rover.

"Thanks to the farsighted and generous support of Starchaser Industries, we are go for Stage 2!" said an obviously delighted Graham Mann, the Fremantle based Manager of Project Marsupial. "Now we're in a position to speed up the construction schedule, and that's important if we're to get the rover out into the desert and under test before its debut at Operation Red Centre".

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Professor Steve Squyres Keynote Speaker at AMEC 2005

MSA is delighted to announce that the keynote speaker for AMEC 2005 will be Professor Steve Squyres. A professor of astronomy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Mr Squyres is a principal investigator for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Missions. Spirit and Opportunity. Along with his work on MER, he is also a co-investigator on the 2003 Mars Express. and 2005 Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter missions, a member of the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer Flight Investigation Team for the Mars Odyssey mission, and a member of the imaging team for the Cassini to Saturn. He will be in Australia promoting his recently published book Roving Mars.

Find out more and register for the conference here.
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AMEC 2005 Registrations now open

Registrations for the 5th Australian Mars Exploration Conference (AMEC V) or AMEC 2005 are now open. Full details are to be found by following our Events-AMEC 2005 link in the menu to the left. This looks like an exciting event, hope to see you there - Dave Cooper (Il Presidente).
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Get a free Polo Shirt at AMEC 2005

If you register for AMEC before the 30th of June, you will receive on arrival a FREE special Mars Society Australia polo shirt celebrating the conference. This is our 5th AMEC and this will be a special issue only available to attendees. For those that don't make the deadline, you can purchase a polo shirt at the venue for AU$ 35.00.
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Starchaser To Unveil UK's Most Powerful Rocket Engine

Starchaser: commercial access to space



MSA sponsor, Starchaser Industries will unveil their new Churchill Mk3 liquid rocket engine at 10am on Wednesday 11th May at the University of Salford. Starchaser Industries are the primary sponsor for the Marsupial Manned Mars Analog Rover Project being built in Perth, Western Australia. This is the most powerful rocket engine built in Britain since the country ceased its space program some 30 years ago.

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MSA/MSC Expedition Two Report goes to Canadian Space Agency

The Canadian Space Agency was one of the sponsors for Expedition Two, last August. A report on the 4 week exercise has been sent to the CSA. This report represents the efforts of Jon Clarke and Rocky Persuad, MSCanada and the AMEC 2004 crew, who successfully put together a large group of scientists and engineers working on putting a permanent human presence on Mars. This document may be modified from time to time.
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Leonardo & Lisa Expeditions Underway

Two complementary Mars simulation projects have commenced at the Mar Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah to investigate the role of gender in an international Mars mission crew. Organised by alumni of the International Space University, the Leonardo project will be carried out by an international male team from April 15 to May 1, while the Mona Lisa project all-female crew will be in the MDRS from May 1 to 15 2005. Both crews will perform similar tasks in comparable conditions and their results will be put side by side. The expeditions follow on from research done on Expedition 1 and Expedition 2 relating to MSA's ...
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MSA Board Welcomes New President and Vice-President

The board of the Mars Society Australia would like to welcome its new incoming President David Cooper. Based in Western Australia, David has served as MSA Vice-President since its incorporation in 2001, and is also the coordinator of the MS WA branch. Canberra based geologist and director Dr Jonathan Clarke has been elected the new Vice-President. Former President Guy Murphy has retired from the role after nearly 5 years as he will be spending time travelling and working overseas during 2005. He intends to remain involved in MSA actvities, and wishes to thank everyone for supporting MSA in its endeavours over the years.
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AMEC2005 Call for Papers Now Open

AMEC V, the fifth Australian Mars Exploration Conference, will be held in Canberra on August 19-21, 2005. The conference will be in the Manning Clark Theatre complex and hosted by the Australian National Universitys School of Psychology. The theme, 'Roving the Red Planet' reflects the prime importance of mobility in the exploration of Mars, both now and in the future and MSAs 'Year of the Rover' focus. You are invited to prepare talks for the conference. Overall there will be six themes, you are asked to consider submitting within one of these:

Theme 1 - Technology
Theme 2 - Planetary science and astrobiology
Theme 3 - The human factor
Theme 4 - Analogue studies
Theme 5 - Education and outreach
Theme 6 - Policy and planning

Expressions of interest should be sent to

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