SECOND
ANNOUNCEMENT

— August 2004 —

 

SPONSORED BY —
Colorado School of Mines,
Lunar and Planetary Institute,
Space Resources Roundtable, Inc.

 

STEERING COMMITTEE —
Joe Burris,
WorldTradeNetwork
R. Scott Baird,
NASA Johnson Space Center
David Criswell,
University of Houston
Michael B. Duke,
Colorado School of Mines
Stephen Mackwell,
Lunar and Planetary Institute
Clyde Parish,
NASA Kennedy Space Center
Sanders Rosenberg,
InSpace Propulsion, Inc.
Frank Schowengerdt,
NASA Headquarters
G. Jeffrey Taylor,
University of Hawai'i
Lawrence Taylor,
University of Tennessee

www.mines.edu/research/srr

  PURPOSE AND SCOPE
  The Space Resources Roundtable, Inc., in collaboration with the Colorado School of Mines and the Lunar and Planetary Institute, will convene the sixth Space Resources Roundtable on November 1–3, 2004, at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.

The purpose of the Space Resources Roundtable is to bring together interested space professionals, experienced resources personnel from industry, and entrepreneurs who may be considering entering into the process of developing and utilizing the resources of space, including the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. The goal of the Space Resources Roundtable is to advance the prospects for the commercial development of space resources through information exchange between personnel in government, commercial, and academic organizations.

This year's meeting promises to be particularly exciting. U.S. President George W. Bush announced a bold new exploration program for NASA that includes a central role for in situ resource utilization on the Moon and Mars. The plan calls for robotic and human missions to the Moon that lead to technological capabilities and a long-term space infrastructure that will enable sustained human operations on the Moon and Mars. The European Space Agency has similar long-range plans. The Space Resources Roundtable, with its visionary and technically savvy participants, is in a unique position to help shape these new programs. Thus, the Space Resources Roundtable solicits contributions in the following areas:

  • Identification of orbital or landed measurements of the Moon and Mars that will help identify and characterize potential resources
  • Descriptions of experimental packages to land on the lunar surface that will demonstrate resource utilization processes, including those with carryover to Mars exploration
  • Descriptions of resource utilization experiments that can be flown on robotic landed missions to Mars
  • Resource processing technologies, including descriptions of demonstration experiments that could be flown on lunar or martian landed missions
  • Descriptions of experiments that could lead to manufacturing with space resources
  • Commercial potential of space resources on Earth and in space
  • Space power systems (including space power as a resource)
  • Planetary surface materials transportation systems
  • Space transportation systems utilizing space resources
  • Market demand and utilization scenarios for products made from space resources
  • The relationship between government-funded exploration and private ventures in identifying and using space resources, and how to develop public and private partnerships
  • Property rights in space
The Roundtable will be organized to accommodate two goals:  discussion of technical reports and subgroup analysis of specific topics. Our goal this year is to produce one or more short white papers to present to appropriate NASA and, through international participants, ESA officials. These documents are intended to provide government decision makers with technically sound recommendations for incorporating space resources into its new exploration program. Potential attendees are encouraged to suggest discussion topics for consideration by the Roundtable. Possibilities include identifying resource utilization experiments that can be done on a landed lunar mission but have application to both the Moon and Mars, or a list of experiments that could be flown on the first landed mission to the Moon, currently scheduled for 2009. The discussion topics will be listed in the second announcement.

 
  THE SPACE RESOURCES ROUNDTABLE, INC.
  The Space Resources Roundtable, Inc. has been incorporated within the State of Colorado and has gained 501c(3) status with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Membership in the Space Resources Roundtable, Inc., is $75.00/year for individual members. Paid-up members, who pay their dues after June 30, 2004, will receive a $50 discount off the registration fee at Space Resources Roundtable VI. Membership payments can be transmitted to Professor Alex Ignatiev, Treasurer, Texas Center for Semiconductors and Advanced Materials, University of Houston, Houston TX 77204-5002.

 
  WHEN AND WHERE
  The Roundtable will be held in Green Conference Center on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. The campus is conveniently located to downtown Denver and is about a 45-minute drive from Denver International Airport. Conference activities will include a dinner on the second evening, two lunches, and coffee/soft drinks at morning/afternoon breaks. A complete list of nearby accommodations will be provided with the second announcement, which will be sent to all persons who respond to this notice. A formal call for abstracts will be included in the second announcement.

The Roundtable meeting will be constructed from topics chosen from the submitted abstracts or by invitation from the Roundtable organizing committee. The Space Resources Roundtable Web site provides access to the abstracts, programs, and other information from previous meetings as well as those of the current meeting.

 
  FUTHER INFORMATION
  Further details regarding abstract submission, the program, and logistics will be included in the second and final announcements. Returning the indication of interest form greatly aids the program committee in planning both the program and meeting logistics, so please return form by June 1, 2004.

 
  CONTACT INFORMATION
  Scientific Program:
G. Jeffrey Taylor
Workshop Program Committee Chair
e-mail: [email protected]

Announcements and Logistics:
Office of Special Programs & Continuing Education (SPACE)
e-mail: [email protected]

SCHEDULE
June 1, 2004Indication of Interest due to SPACE
June 30, 2004Second Announcement mailed
October 1, 2004Electronic abstract submission deadline
October 8, 2004Final announcement mailed
October 12, 2004Preregistration Deadline
November 1–3, 2004Space Resources Utilization Roundtable VI
at Colorado School of Mines

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