Author: Earl White

Seventeen Australian university students are about to examine what it would be like to live and work on Mars and the human and psychological effects of isolation and close confinement for months on end.

The Australian National University (ANU) School of Psychology, with the close involvement of Mars Society Australia (MSA), is running an inaugural Coastal Summer School, which will require young people to put themselves in the place of those who might one day venture to the Martian surface.
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Australian palaeontologist Dr. Bruce Runnegar has been selected as the next director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute (NAI). As director of the Institute, Runnegar will lead efforts to answer the three big questions central to astrobiology: How does life begin and evolve? Does life exist elsewhere? What is life’s future on Earth and beyond? Some of the answers to these questions may be found by exploring Mars. Mars Society Australia wishes Dr. Runnegar well with his new appointment.
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Australian astronaut Dr. Andy Thomas opened the new facility at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at Macquarie University in November with a powerful speech urging Australia to set up a national space agency and take an active part in space exploration activities. He pointed out that “Mars is the great exploration of the 21st century, but Australian kids will see no Australian role. This is not a healthy legacy to leave the next generation.” A copy of his notes of the speech can be found at http://aca.mq.edu.au/andy.html
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Yakka Australia has generously agreed to supply coveralls for Australian members of Mars Society Australia to wear while participating in Expedition One at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah.
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This year, the Australian Mars Exploration Conference (AMEC 2003) is to be held at Trinity College in Perth, Western Australia. Full details including a Call For Papers and secure Online Registration are now available.
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Beginning in March 2003 MSA NSW is proud to present a series of seminars by prominent speakers from a variety of fields on topics related to the scientific, engineering and social aspects of Mars exploration. See the NSW Branch home page for details.
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Six Australians from Mars Society Australia – James Waldie, Dr Jonathan Clarke, Guy Murphy, Jennifer Laing, Graham Mann and Dr Steve Dawson , have spent time at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) (MDRS) in Utah for Expedition One – a month long research mission in conjunction with the
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AMEC 2003
August 22-24
Perth, Western Australia

Don’t forget to register for AMEC 2003 and take advantage of the earlybird registration. Click here to find out more, including a Call for Papers and secure Online Registration. AMEC is the annual Mars Society conference and will bring together researchers, academics and Mars enthusiasts from around the country and internationally, to find out the latest developments on human Mars exploration and Mars analogue research.
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Over the following months Australia will be hosting a diverse range of conferences relating to space and planetary sciences.

Click here for a full conference calendar.
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The Convener of the 3rd Australian Mars Exploration Conference announced an extended deadline for papers presented for this years conference. The new deadline is the 30th of June 2003. Click here to find out more.
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