October Public Meeting | Mars Update: Journey to the Red Planet

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome!

We'll be in the Function Room on the first floor of the Caulfield RSL. The venue is disabled friendly and includes a lift. Meals are available at reasonable prices. Ample car parking is available immediately behind the RSL or in St Georges Road.  Trams and trains run within 200 metres of the venue.

The meeting will be streamed live and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/otji0JZI-aA

Mars Update: Journey to the Red Planet

Our feature topic will be our third annual review of the current status and feasibility of several planned missions to Mars with commentary and discussion by an expert panel.

The evening will provide a local and global overview of plans, proposals, progress and timelines (including Elon Musk and SpaceX's plans for their Mars mission architecture - Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species - which was announced at the International Astronautical Congress 2016 in Mexico on 27 September and a Mars One update) and then to open up the discussion for special commentary from the panel, which will include: Mars One astronaut candidate and Space Association of Australia member, Dianne McGrath; the President of the Melbourne Chapter of the Mars Society Australia, Guy Murphy and others). 

Space News: ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli Lander Mission 

The first mission of the ExoMars programme, scheduled to arrive at Mars on 16 October 2016, consists of a Trace Gas Orbiter plus an entry, descent and landing demonstrator module, known as Schiaparelli. The main objectives of this mission are to search for evidence of methane and other trace atmospheric gases that could be signatures of active biological or geological processes and to test key technologies in preparation for ESA's contribution to subsequent missions to Mars.

Agenda