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 resource 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 (ESA) 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 developing 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. The following topics are currently under consideration by the Program Committee:
  • Strategies for effective involvement of private industry in the Exploration Initiative (e.g., independent activities, collaborations with universities, government-industry partnerships, optimal cost sharing with government agencies)
  • Arguments for the importance of in situ resource utilization (ISRU) demonstration experiments on landed missions to the Moon and Mars, and the synergism between resource extraction processes on the Moon and Mars

The previous meetings of the Space Resources Roundtable have gathered many leading investigators who are interested in commercial development of space resources. A loosely knit community of interest is emerging, with the common goal of finding the conditions in which the resources of space will become commercially rewarding. Space resource utilization has begun to attract the attention of NASA's space exploration programs, as shown by the prominence given to it in the President's announcement and in recent NASA calls for proposals.

Against this backdrop, the Space Resources Roundtable is encouraging a broad discussion of the issues associated with commercial development. In some cases (for the Moon and asteroids), additional exploration missions will be needed to identify and characterize potentially valuable resources and to lay the groundwork for technology development. Such missions are relatively low-cost missions, and missions currently being planned or discussed in various countries can contribute to the goal of space resource characterization and development. The technologies required need to be defined and developed. The means should be found to link the government and commercial sectors to partnerships in these missions and technology development.

 
  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. Current members (i.e., those who have paid their dues subsequent to 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 list of area hotels is provided. To qualify for a discounted rate, be sure to mention that you are attending a CSM special course.

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.

 
  SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS
  Please submit one-page abstracts electronically using Microsoft Word to Linda M. V. Martel, University of Hawai'I at [email protected].

Format for abstracts:
Use Microsoft Word Times New Roman font.
Title, centered, in 14-point bold, all caps. The rest of the document should be in 11-point font, not bold.
Author(s) initials and last name(s) centered below title.
Author(s) institution(s), addresses, and e-mail addresses, centered.
Leave two blank line spaces between authors' affiliations and the abstract.

Abstracts should be substantive, that is, tell the reader about your topic rather than saying that you are going to talk about the topic. Conclusions or recommendations should be stated briefly.

Abstracts may be submitted on any topic related to space resource utilization (see list above), including demand models for various potential markets; exploration for resources; resource extraction; infrastructure systems needed to produce and utilize space resources, including transportation, power, automated systems, etc.; technology development; political, legal, and economic frameworks; and other topics that may be related. Moon, Mars, asteroids, martian satellites, energy, and other potential resources are valid topics, but the Program Committee encourages participants to focus on topics related to the Explorative Initiative, hence on lunar and martian resources.

Abstracts are due by October 8, 2004, to allow time for the program to be formulated and organized.

 
  REGISTRATION
  The registration fee for Space Resources Roundtable VI is $200.00 ($150.00 for paid members of the Space Resources Roundtable) through October 12, and $225.00 after that date ($175.00 for members). We are offering a reduced registration fee of $80.00 for students and guests ($105.00 after October 12). Participants can register on line at https://hagrid.mines.edu/outreach/cont_ed/form_pgp.htm or can register by mail using the downloadable form. The form should be mailed along with check or money order to the Office of Special Programs and Continuing Education, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden CO 80401 (e-mail: [email protected]).

All registration fees include a catered dinner on the evening of November 2, continental breakfast on all three days of the meeting, and lunches on November 1 and 2. Registrants will be provided with a full set of abstracts at the beginning of the meeting. Abstracts, summaries of discussions, and presentation materials will be collected and posted on the Space Resources Roundtable Web site at http://www.mines.edu/research/srr.

 
  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)
phone: 303-273-3321 or 800-446-9488, ext. 3321
fax: 303-273-3314
e-mail: [email protected]

Colorado School of Mines Technical Contact:
Michael B. Duke
Director, Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space
phone: 303-384-2096
fax: 303-384-2327
e-mail: [email protected]

SCHEDULE
October 8, 2004Electronic abstract submission deadline
October 12, 2004Preregistration deadline
October 22, 2004Program and abstracts posted on this Web site
November 1–3, 2004Space Resources Utilization Roundtable VI
at Colorado School of Mines

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