| We met at Studio 106 at 7:00pm. Gerry had put
together a QuickTime movie of all four "Star Wars" trailers, plus the "Star
Wars" music video, and the latest "Men In Black II" trailer to entertain
everyone as they showed up. At this meeting were Kelly Jernigan, John Stone, Dave Rankin, Shannon
Rupert, Gilbert Ikezaki and Gerry Williams. |
|
OUTREACH |
| We first discussed the amazing outreach we had last week at
"STARS IN THE PARK" telescope event
outside the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park. In spite of only one telescope having
been assembled (due to extremely overcast conditions), we were able to talk with over 30 people. The
big attractor was Gerry's videotape running raw footage from MDRS EVA-25, in addition to the two
laptops running various Mars-related PowerPoint presentations that we'd put together. John, Dave and
Gerry worked the crowd, showing off pictures and "The Case for Mars" book. |
|
| For future Outreach events, we talked about targeting a crowd "younger" than our current
membership. Shannon proposed we start looking at the universities and colleges in the area, and
hooking up with astronomy and science clubs to give presentations to. Gerry mentioned some
connections to both High Tech High and the Elementary Institute of Science for attracting the even
younger crowd. |
|
| There will be a Science Fiction Authors Signing at UCSD Campus, Price Center Theatre in La
Jolla from 7:00pm to 9:00pm on Wednesday, May 8th. Authors include: Gregory Benford,
Kim Stanley Robinson, David Brin, Nancy Holder, and Vernor Vinge (all graduates from
UCSD). TMS-SD will have a couple people there passing out our flyers. |
|
| Ray Bradbury will be speaking at a Learning Annex class this Saturday, May 11th
from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. TMS-SD will also have a couple people there passing out our flyers. |
| An invitation from Francis French, the Education Programs Coordinator at the
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center: "I am just thinking in very
general terms about a Saturday afternoon event after October (so it could be promoted in our next
Education Programs Brochure and other media releases) which would feature robots from many different
places and for different uses. It would be great if you could contribute also." Gerry will be
contacting some robotics hobbyists he knows, and anyone else who is aware of local robotic activities
is encouraged to contact them regarding this project. Perhaps a couple of them could be pointed
towards a Mars Exploration approach. |
|
| We discussed putting together a "media-friendly" information brochure for both existing and
prospective members about what The Mars Society - San Diego is all about. This brochure would answer
questions about our goals, activities and purpose, as well as give a background on Mars and Martian Exploration (through both Mars Society and space agency perspectives). Two existing internet documents ("Why Mars for ProSpace" by Tom Hill and "Why go to Mars?" by James Hollingshead and Bo Maxwell) were passed around as samples of questions and answers of this type of material. And based on our recent TV news experience, we want to make sure our subject matter is palatible as "sound bites" and eminently quotable for the media. |
|
| Gerry (our current webmaster) asked if our
Chapter's website was user-
friendly and informative, and if any changes or new directions were needed. Other than updating some
of the ancillary materials (i.e.; the Suggested Reading list and other links, we're looking for
feedback regarding any changes our members would like to make. The Members Biographies was the one
everyone wanted to see completed -- we'll schedule a photography session at one of our meetings in
Studio 106 for those who would like a portrait taken specifically for this. |
|
MARS DESERT RESEARCH STATION -- (MDRS) |
| With the end of the MDRS Season-1
upon us, the San Diego Mission Support group has decided to draft a MDRS Mission Support
"Lessons Learned" document to be submitted to The Mars Society regarding our 4 week stint. This
document would detail, from our perspective, both the good and bad aspects of operating as Mission
Support. We're going to start this as a "round robin" e-mail between all of the individual members
who participated, then consolidate it and edit it into a functional document for submission. John
Stone volunteered to take the first stab at it. |
|
| Shannon brought along a copy of the report that both she (as MDRS Crew #3 Biologist) and
Jonathan Butler wrote for the MDRS Mission: "Comparative Biology of Regolith and Ephemeral
Basins: A working Test of the "McDaniel's Hypothesis' ". This paper will be one presented at
the August 8-11, 2002 5th International MARS
SOCIETY CONVENTION at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Good job, Shannon and Jonathan! |
|
COMIC-CON 2002 |
| The biggest popular arts event of its kind in America,
COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2002 will
be held August 1-4, 2002 at the newly expanded San Diego Convention Center downtown. We discussed
having two or three panels this year, and decided on two: One an audio-visual overview of our
experience with the MARS Desert Research Station (both as Mission Support for Crews 3 and 4, and as
members of the crews themselves); and the other will be one aspect of Mars: Past, Present or Future
(depending on the guests we can acquire). Each member is requested to contact at least two
prospective panelists, including authors, artists, astronauts, celebrities, scientists, etc. Gerry
will contact ComicCon and let them know well be there. |
|
| Shannon is asking The Mars Society for permission to have a Mars Suit from MDRS or FMARS
available to us during the convention. It will be worn by various members during the convention, as
well as possibly by someone during the Con Masquerade. Shannon and Jonathan could then drive the
suit back to Denver the following week when they attend the
MARS SOCIETY CONVENTION. |
|
| We discussed the possibility of having a fan table there, where we would put pictures and
literature, as well as be a common meeting place for us to talk with con-goers. Gerry is looking
into silk-screening on black T-shirts for TMS-SD members for the convention -- he'll get some cost
figures and quantities by our next meeting. |
|
OTHER NOTES |
| Dave will be updating our chapter's
Red Planet Satellite
Report for The Mars Society website. |
|
| We've moved up our TMS-SD MARS MOVIE NIGHT to avoid
conflicts with the Memorial Day Weekend. Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close and Annette Bening star in the
1996 Tim Burton movie "MARS ATTACKS!" Showtime is at 7:00pm at
Studio 106. |
|
| We discussed finding a better night than the Monday of the second week of the month for our
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING of TMS-SD. No decision was made at this time. Our August meeting, in
particular, is under discussion, as a good portion of our membership will be in Boulder, CO for the
5th International MARS SOCIETY CONVENTION
-- if we chose another day we could have members both giving a report on ComicCon and the MS
Convention. |
|
| Shannon logged on to the website of professional photographer Paul Harris to show us
images he took at MDRS during Shannon's rotation. |
|
| The meeting wrapped up with another playing of the "Star Wars" and "Men
In Black II" trailers. |
|
