An initiative between Trinity College in East Perth and Mars Society Australia, will see an innovative new Centre for Planetary and Space Studies set up at the East Perth school this year, bringing Mars research to the heart of the Western Australian capital. Mars Society Australia’s Vice-President and Outreach Director, Mr David Cooper, believes that this Centre may well be the first space research laboratory to be established in a secondary education institution in Australia, and speaks enthusiastically about the goals of the new Centre.
Read the full media release.
Also check out the centre's new webpage and download an information leaflet, which includes a program of upcoming events.
News
Trinity College 'Spaced Out' By New Mars Research Laboratory
Friday, 16 April 2004
NASA Rover Opportunity Lands on Mars
Sunday, 25 January 2004
NASA's second robotic rover lander Opportunity has safely landed on the surface of Mars at Meridiani Planum. Read the latest news as it unfolds at NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission Homepage.
Call for Australian Involvement in New U.S. Space Program
Thursday, 15 January 2004
In a speech to NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C., U.S. President George W. Bush has announced an inspiring new course for human space exploration through the 21st century. As he notes, in the past 30 years, human beings have not set foot on any other world, nor ventured farther upward into space than 386 miles. This is about to change. Mars Society Australia applauds this bold vision and calls on the Australian Government to do what it can to support the United States in achieving this ambitious goal, which has enormous ramifications for mankind.
Read the full media release here
Read the full media release here
Powerplant Gets Serviced
Thursday, 15 January 2004
Much work on the powerplant - a modified 3 litre, diesel engine with 4 x 4 transmission - took place slowly over the past few months. Many components, especially seals, gaskets, clamps and water pipes etc. of the engine were cleaned, inspected, painted and/or replaced. The oil pan was removed, cleaned and painted. A modified oil dump line was fitted and the speedometer cable was removed. The handbrake was dismantled, inspected for wear, tested and replaced. The speedometer cable was removed - it will be replaced with an electronic version. A new triple pulley is to carry a second, 100W alternator and a small airconditioner compressor. Design of the mountings for these devices has been deferred until the powerplant is mounted in the vehicle chassis to ensure a good fit. The powerplant then was transported to the Byfield factory in a special carrier (see below, left). There the unit was positioned in the chassis (below, right) and a plan of which mounting brackets to add, remove or...
NASA Rover Spirit Lands on Mars
Sunday, 4 January 2004
NASA's Deep Space Network has received its first images from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, shortly after it descended to the surface at around 3.35pm Eastern Australian time. Once deployed, it is planned that the rover will undertake a 90 day mission of scientific investigations around the landing site in Gusev Crater. Australia will be contributing to the mission by providing communications through the Deep Space Network's Canberra facility. Read the latest news as it unfolds at NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission Homepage.
Australia Joins the Search for Beagle 2
Tuesday, 30 December 2003
As Mars Express makes history as the first European spacecraft to successfully enter Martian orbit, the search continues for the Beagle 2 lander, which entered the Martian atmosphere on the afternoon of Christmas Day Australian time. Australia is heavily involved strategies to establish contact with the craft. NASA's orbiter Mars Odyessy is sending back search results via NASA's Deep Space Network, which includes the Tidbinbilla Radio Telescope outside Canberra. From 4th January, the European Space Agency's radio telescope at New Norcia in Western Australia will be relaying telemetry from Mars Express, as it commences searching for a signal. Meanwhile, Sydney University has been asked to search using its radio telescope (read more...
Anticipating Christmas on the Red Planet
Wednesday, 17 December 2003
The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft is about to say farewell to the Beagle 2 lander on 19 December, as the latter is released and heads off to the surface of Mars. Once separated from Mars Express, Beagle 2 becomes a spacecraft in its own right for the last five days of its momentous journey to study some of the mysteries of the Red Planet.
Read more here.
Read more here.
AMEC 2004 - Call for Papers
Friday, 5 December 2003
The fourth annual Australian Mars Exploration Conference, AMEC2004, will be held this year in Adelaide over the weekend of July 30th-August 1st, 2004. The conference will explore the latest results from local and international researchers in one of the most exciting years in Mars exploration yet.
We are looking for papers from a variety of disciplines, including geology, astrobiology, psychology/human factors, biomedicine, engineering and robotics. Papers should focus on aspects of research that have direct or potential application to a future human mission to Mars. Information about how to submit a paper (including an abstract submission form) may be found here.
More conference details to be posted shortly.
We are looking for papers from a variety of disciplines, including geology, astrobiology, psychology/human factors, biomedicine, engineering and robotics. Papers should focus on aspects of research that have direct or potential application to a future human mission to Mars. Information about how to submit a paper (including an abstract submission form) may be found here.
More conference details to be posted shortly.
AMEC 2002 Proceedings Online
Tuesday, 25 November 2003
The proceedings of the 2nd Australian Mars Exploration Conference (AMEC 2002) are now available online. These include abstracts and papers from over 24 presentations, on diverse topics including geology, habitat design, space suit technology, surface rovers and communications. Audio recordings of the conference presentations are also now available online by tuning in to Radio Free Mars, where you can hear the keynote address by Apollo astronaut Dr Harrison Schmitt.
Chassis Modifcation Proceeds
Sunday, 5 October 2003
Work continues on the chassis modification, which is being strengthened as well as elongated. Before the 3L engine and gearbox is mounted to the chassis, the opportunity to recondition it is being taken (though the engine is in working order). This involves a good deal of hunting for spare parts - some from generic suppliers and some from Toyota dealers. The donor vehicle continues to be stripped of anything useful, including engine mounts, a vacuum reservoir, and electrical parts. The steel carry frame for moving the engine is now finished. While planning construction yesterday, the idea of adding some small wheels arose. The carry frame will only be used once, but parts of it could also be modified into a mobile jig for the cabin body. There are sound logistical reasons for wanting to separate the body from the vehicle chassis, lift and move it about the workshop without distorting it. That also allows work to continue on more than one component of the system at a time. A good...
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