Lunar Lavatube Locator Mission Project - The Oregon
L5 Society had taken the first steps towards a project that
would involve sifting through the extensive Clementine data record
for signs of lunar lavatubes. ORL5 president Tom
Billings had brainstormed in theory the possibility of using a
radar "flashbulb" impact probe to illuminate near surface voids to
a wide based radar array on Earth. ISDC '98 brought Tom to
Milwaukee to conduct a workshop on the probe to advance the plan.
Buzz Aldrin audited the workshop and contributed valuable ideas on
the kind of trajectory the probe would need. Since then, the
Clementine Project Team ,
led by Allen G. Taylor, purchased special computer equipment to
sift through the Clementine data. But they have run into software
problems that will require purchasing a new UltraSPARC 5 at $2400
to fix. Meanwhile, Billings has put together a grant proposal to
the FINDS Foundation.
Putting together an "Economic Geography of the Solar
System" - We did not have a critical mass of the right talent
for this workshop. However, the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium,
in a joint meeting with the Wisconsin Space Business Roundtable,
on March 18, 1999 (a Madison-Green Bay-Milwaukee conference call)
offered to put their expertise
and connections behind this effort. Thanks to respect earned for
putting on ISDC '98, the Lunar Reclamation Society has graduated
from observer status to interactive partnership with WSGC.
U-LuCy: The University of Luna in Cyberspace - We did
not have a critical mass of the right talent for this workshop.
The consensus, however, was that we should put up a ULuCy Website
with the basic plan and send the URL on a limited distribution
list of select persons who may be able to help, and/or who may
wish to be involved. We would solicit input
and feedback and see where it goes from there. We hope to take
this first step in the next few months (written 3/28/99).
Networking: National
Space Society & Space
Frontier Foundation - These two venerable organizations,
both with an abundance of dedicated, hard working people aimed at
the creation of a viable space faring civilization involving
settlements beyond Earth, had had a troubled interrelationship.
Personalities and egos, goal priorities, depth of vision, methods
and histories all came into play. SFF was founded at ISDC '88 in
Denver and we brought them back to ISDC '98 for a tenth
anniversary effort at finding common ground for networking. That
we had strong personal dedication to making the effort on both
sides, in Pat Dasch (NSS) and Rick Tumlinson (SFF) worked in favor
of success. Only history will tell if their current collaboration
will be fruitful and lasting. But together, NSS & SFF are
cosponsoring the Lunar
Base Development Conference, July 16-18, 1999 in League City
(Houston), Texas.
NSS Chapters Central Resource Exchange Website -
Following an outline we had put together, Ronnie
Lajoie conducted a productive workshop aimed at identifying
action items to make this a reality. Chapters need support, more
than NSS headquarters can divert resources to give them. But
pooling their talents, chapters should be able to support one
another, tapping a relatively enormous talent pool. In 2001
we created (and continually update) the Space
Chapters Hub, where chapters of the National Space
Society, The Mars Society, and The Moon Society can display their
outreach products and other resources so that chapters can learn
from one another and share resources. This has been the most
successful of the ISDC '98 follow up efforts to date.
Lunar Homestead Traveling Exhibit - Out of an extensive
wish list, three
display items were produced in time for ISDC '98. One
additional item has been produced since. Standing in the way of
producing more (besides expenditures of money and man hours) are
two critical issues. How do we
store and transport additional displays? The idea was to have
a growing exhibit which could make the rounds of ISDCs and other
conferences open to the public. The idea is outreach, helping the
public to visualize the feasibility of lunar settlement. We will
probably concentrate on low weight non-bulky displays, investing
ISDC '98 earnings.
