Bryan Palaszewski

Bryan Palaszewski will be giving 2 presentations during the convention and participating in a discussion regarding our president's recent announcement about the space program. Stop by and check them out!

Possibilities for Chemical Propulsion and In-SITU Resources in the Solar System

Friday 6:00-8:00 PM, Lake Superior Room

The future exploration of the Solar System will require innovations in transportation and use of the in-situ resources at many planetary landing sites. The cost of large ambitious space missions has always been prohibitive, and using the natural resources that are available at the sites of exploration can reduce the cost, mass, and complexity of these missions. This presentation will describe some of the resources available at the sites, and survey the overall technologies for chemical propulsion that may be attractive for future Solar System missions.

Exploring the Solar System is a daunting task, and many ideas of using the natural resources of the planets and other bodies have been developed over many decades (Ref. 1 to 132). Several destinations in the Solar System are reviewed, including the Moon, Mars, Asteroids, Comets, and the moons and planets of the Outer Solar System. Each destination has unique qualities of reduced or magnified gravity, radiation, volatiles, and other resources that hopefully can be used for the betterment of space missions. This presentation illustrate several possibilities for using these resources and how they can assist the human exploration of the Solar System.

Mars Exploration: Historical Overview and Future Possibilities

Friday 4:30-6:00 PM, Lake Superior Room

The recent successful landing of the Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" has accentuated the public excitement surrounding Mars exploration. Since the early 1960�s, Mars flights have been planned and executed, and many fantastic things have been learned about the Red Planet. From the first attempt to explore Mars with the Russian Mars 1, to the successful first flyby of Mariner 4, and the first successful orbital mission of Mariner 9, many secrets have been revealed about interplanetary navigation and spacecraft survival. These craft have transmitted enormous volumes of data on the details of the surface and atmosphere of Mars. Other Mars spacecraft such as those of the Viking Missions the first successful landing and began the gathering of data about the potential for past life on Mars. This presentation will discuss the historical Mars missions, the current "Spirit" and "Opportunity" landings, as well as the future possibilities of robotic and human Mars exploration.