Two Call for Papers

Recently, two Call for Papers were published that really convinced me that work on space settlement is accelerating.

First, there was a Call for Papers for Space Manufacturing 14. This announcement is a big deal because it seemed that the Space Manufacturing conference was dead, which is sad because this was brain child of Gerard K. O’Neill. It occurred every two years up to Space Manufacturing 13 in 2001, then something happened. It sort of sucks to have the one of the flagship conferences on space settlement die...it kills the spirit of the whole field. However, it's really exciting to see the Space Studies Institute gaining momentum again. The space community should really support them and send a mountain of high quality work to them. Abstracts are due August 16th, submission information is here. I'm serious, I want them buried in the best papers they have ever seen.

Next, we have a Call for Papers from the Journal of Cosmology. The Journal of Cosmology is a fully open source journal that first published in October 2009 and managed to gain 25,000 readers in a short time. The papers already submitted look epic, but I know we can pump out more content. More epic, there are no processing or publishing fees for this issue, so there is no reason why everyone who has an idea shouldn't publish. More information is here and it is due September 1st. These articles will promote more scholarly discussion about space settlement, which we need badly, some of the stuff that comes up on my radar (Google Alerts) is...really bad. However, looking over past editions of the Journal of Cosmology, everything is high quality and juicy; each of the articles are thought-provoking. 

Why are you here? Start writing!!!!

Inhabit Space, Today!

Sort of...You can apply to join the 10th season of The Mars Desert Research Station. This is a really cool and detailed simulation of a Mars base. It even has something called Greenhab, a simulation of farming in space. It can even purify water. The application is due September 15, 2010. However, if you apply by August 15th, you get a better chance. The time commitment isn't bad (Two weeks per crew), but it is $1,000 dollars + transportation costs. However, The Mars Society has a really good scholarship program (Undergrads get to go for free!) for those willing to do five presentations, which isn't bad. I would 100% recommend my readers who are even slightly interested to apply.

You just have to imagine the change in gravity.

Do You Want To Be A Space Inhabitant Today?

Thanks to Geekdad for posting this information.

Are you angry because humanity does not have a moon base to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission? Have you been working in the space field since the dinosaurs were alive and you only want to retire in space? Are you an insane blogger who writes about space habitation because he can't live in space? Well, the space community has two solution for you.

The Mars Society’s runs the FMARS program and the Mars Institute’s runs the Haughton-Mars Project. These are simulations, on Earth, of a Mars base. You can volunteer to be a part of this simulations, either as the crew or as mission support. Now, you will be a lab rat. There will probably do something cruel like a solar storm notification while you are at the farthest point from the base in the EVA. But, I think the real thing will be more cruel. So, you can contribute to the establishment of a Mars base while doing something epic. The Mars Society will post on their website when they are taking applications and the Mars Institute will do the same. The Haughton-Mars Project is active in the summer and the FMARS program has had 6 crews over the 7 year program.