www.mines.edu/research/srr

 

SPONSORS
Colorado School of Mines
Lunar and Planetary Institute
Space Resources Roundtable, Inc.

STEERING COMMITTEE
Michael B. Duke,
   Colorado School of Mines
Leslie Gertsch,
   University of Missouri-Rolla
Stephen Mackwell,
   Lunar and Planetary Institute
Ed McCullough,
   Boeing
Charles O'Dale,
   Senomix Software
Clyde Parrish,
   NASA Kennedy Space Center
Frank Schowengerdt,
   NASA Headquarters
G. Jeffrey Taylor,
   University of Hawai'i
Lawrence Taylor,
   University of Tennessee

 


  DATE AND LOCATION

  The Roundtable will be held in the 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. Commercial shuttle service is available. Conference activities 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 posted on this LPI Web site. 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.

 

  KEY POINTS:
Date:  Oct. 31–Nov. 2, 2006
Location:  Colorado School of Mines

  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 eighth Space Resources Roundtable on October 31–November 2, 2006, at the Colorado School of Mines, in Golden, Colorado.

The purpose of the Space Resources Roundtable is to bring together space professionals, natural resources industry personnel (mining, quarrying, construction), and entrepreneurs interested in developing and utilizing the resources of space, including the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and comets. The goal of the Space Resources Roundtable is to advance the prospects for the commercial development of space resources through information exchange among government, commercial, and academic organizations.

This year's meeting again promises to be exciting. Ever since U.S. President George W. Bush announced the central role for in situ resource utilization on the Moon and Mars in support of an expanded space exploration program, interest continues to increase. 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 eighth Space Resources Roundtable solicits contributions in the areas of:

  • 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-private partnerships.
  • Property rights in space.
  • The pros and cons of using pyroclastic glasses and polar ice for oxygen production.
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 national and international officials. These documents are intended to provide decision makers with technically sound recommendations for incorporating space resources into the new exploration programs. Potential attendees are encouraged to suggest discussion topics for consideration by the Roundtable. Possibilities include identifying resource utilization experiments for a landed lunar mission, with application to both the Moon and Mars, or a list of resource characterization sensors that could be flown on the first landed mission to the Moon, currently scheduled for 2009. The chosen discussion topics will be listed in the second announcement.

 

   
 

  THE SPACE RESOURCES ROUNDTABLE, INC.

  The Space Resources Roundtable, Inc., is incorporated within the State of Colorado and has 501c(3) status with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Membership in the Space Resources Roundtable, Inc., is $75/year for individual members. Members will receive a $50 discount on the registration fee at the Space Resources Roundtable VIII. Send dues to Professor Alex Ignatiev, Treasurer, Texas Center for Semiconductors and Advanced Materials, University of Houston, Houston TX 77204-5002.

 

   
 

  INDICATION OF INTEREST AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  Further details regarding abstract submission, the program, and logistics will be included in the second and final announcements. Please return the indication of interest form by June 1, 2006, as it greatly aids the program committee in planning both the program and meeting logistics.

 

   
 

  CONTACT INFORMATION

  For further information regarding the scientific program, contact
    LESLIE GERTSCH
    Workshop Program Committee Chair
    E-mail: [email protected]

For information regarding meeting logistics and announcements, contact
    OFFICE OF SPECIAL PROGRAMS &
    CONTINUING EDUCATION (SPACE)

    E-mail: [email protected]

 

SCHEDULE
June 1, 2006 Indication of interest form due to SPACE
June 30, 2006 Second announcement posted on this Web site
September 8, 2006 Electronic abstract deadline
September 29, 2006Final announcement posted on this Web site
October 13, 2006Preregistration Deadline
Oct. 31–Nov. 2, 2006Space Resources Utilization Roundtable VIII
at Colorado School of Mines


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