President's Report

Charles Dickens started A Tale of Two Cities with the words "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times" . The same could be said of NSSA heading into 2009.

We've enjoyed outstanding successes through 2008, and the society owes an enormous amount to the leadership of Anny Joseph (President) and Kirby Ikin (Chairman) for getting us to this position. The highlights for me were:

At the same time, NSSA faces a truly difficult environment in remaining relevant to you, our members. Each of you has more information about space at your fingertips than you could read in a lifetime. You can watch space launches and the surface of Mars from the comfort of your home, and you can become involved in very specific interest groups on the internet that are right up your particular space alley. So why would you pay to join a group like NSSA? It becomes harder and harder to maintain an organisation that is defined by geography when so much information is available elsewhere. This is obvious to me when I see an ageing and dwindling membership base, consisting in the main of people who prefer to get their information about space first hand, rather than over the internet.

Without members, we lose our clout as a lobby organisation to government and business, and find it very hard to put on the conferences each year which give us credibility as advocates in the space industry here in Australia. We also need our volunteer members to help keep the society running, through the chapter meetings, website updates and member administration. We're down to a critically low level of membership, where annual membership subscriptions only really cover our annual running costs, and where a very few people in the society are shouldering the burden of running NSSA. I worry about burnout in our stalwarts who have given so much to NSSA – I don't want them overworked and uninspired by their time in the society.

While it is a great honour to be elected President of NSSA, I must say that it is with some reluctance I take on the role as I feel I do not have enough time to perform the role to the full extent it deserves, and am not sure how long I can continue in it. However, there were no others willing to take on the role, and I see this as symptomatic of our difficulty in finding active, involved members.

Those are the challenges we face in 2009.

As President, I need your help in making your society all that you want it to be. I need you involved, communicating, and contributing. Together we can build NSSA into a powerful force for inspiring people about space in Australia. Remember that everyone who sits as a director of the society, everyone who has been president, everyone who has run an ASSC or an ASDC is a volunteer, and there is nothing at all stopping you from being involved in making us all that we can be. Email me. Phone me. I want to know what you want out of your society, and what you want to do to make the society better for all members.

It's a fascinating thing to be a supporter of space development. We stand on the brink of a permanent human presence in space – something which is awesome in every sense of the word, and which will resonate through the rest of human history. Sometimes the string of setbacks to commercial space flight, repeated government budget cuts and the frustratingly slow progress of cheap space access makes it seem like we're not getting anywhere. On the long view, though, whether it takes us another five, or ten, or fifty years to get a proper foothold in space will be irrelevant – what will be important in getting there is that people continue to recognise space as a goal worth achieving through these early times. NSSA is here to remind people of the enormity of the achievements that space travel represents.

It is often said that nothing worthwhile is ever easy. That idea encourages me when I become disillusioned about our chances of realising all our goals in space. It will happen, and you can help make it happen. Be involved.

Ad Astra!


Anthony Wicht
2009 President
President@nssa.com.au
0410 540 247

In this month's issue:

If there is a topic that you'd like to read about in the next issue of eSFN or your chapter would like to be featured just let us know. Email your Readers Requests to: eSFN@nssa.com.au

http://web.mit.edu/mitsps/MITFutureofHumanSpaceflight.pdf

In December 2008 the Space, Policy and Society Research Group at MIT published "The Future of Human Spaceflight". It's hard to know the best way to describe the paper. Is it an open letter to the Obama administration, setting out a to-do list to get human spaceflight back on track in the USA? Is it just a summary of the trials and tribulations of NASA over the last 50 years? Or is it an academic analysis of an issue which has far-reaching political and economic implications in the USA?

In truth, it is probably a blend of all three. It certainly summarises the key questions facing the US human space flight programme over the next ten or twenty years, and analyses how the current crossroads relate to similar situations the US has faced in the past – like Nixon's decision to begin development of the space shuttle in 1972, or the soul-searching in the wake of the Columbia and Challenger shuttle tragedies. The paper also analyses the likely consequences of the current US approach to human spaceflight, through issues like safety, return for investment and international relations.

The study then takes the fact summary one step further by trying to assemble a rationale for assessing whether the costs and risks of human spaceflight outweigh the benefits. The keystone of this rationale is dividing the things human spaceflight achieves into "primary goals" which can be achieved only with human spaceflight, and "secondary goals" for which human spaceflight is useful, but not essential. So, for example, the national prestige that human spaceflight brings would be a primary goal, and most science is a secondary goal. The study urges political decision makers to use this framework in assessing the goals of human spaceflight, and then build around it the ethics of acceptable risk to life in achieving those goals and the relationship between funding and those risk levels.

The paper is well worth reading even if you disagree with the methodology for assessing risk in human spaceflight, because of the excellent prècis of current issues facing the US, and the options available to address those issues.

http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/Committee/economics_ctte/space_08/report/index.htm

In November 2008, the federal enquiry into Australia's space sector produced a report outlining a future direction for space in this country. The report strongly supported an increased level of space engagement within Australia, and recommended that Australia work gradually towards establishing a space "agency" in the country.

The report is well worth reading as an accurate summary of where the Australian space industry has been, and where it stands today. The Senate Economics Committee, which prepared the report, heard from most people in Australia involved in space activities. The NSSA put in two submissions, and the NSSA-run Australian Space Development Conference prepared a resolution to the committee.

The report is balanced and sensible, however reports like this have been prepared before. The Rudd Government has commissioned a large number of enquiries, almost all of which have recommended that more federal spending be allocated to the particular area of inquiry. It will be interesting to see whether sufficient budget is available over the next two to five years to implement these reforms, which could kick-start sensible space development in Australia.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081029.SPACE29/TPStory

At more than $30-million (U.S.) a ticket, it's not cheap, but rich adventurers will still pay for a dream trip into orbit despite a global financial crisis, space tourist Richard Garriott said this week.

Although world leaders and homeowners have been worrying about what the biggest global economic crisis since the 1930s, Garriott said the space-obsessed rich will still find the cash to fly into orbit.

"It's possible that the client list will change as happens in situations like this," he said. "However, the number of people who are still interested in, and capable of, flying into space is still lengthy."

http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/12/what-about-the-space-exploration-crisis-nasa-budget-could-be-cut-to-save-money/

The challenges the 44th President of the United States will face are deep and varied. So, of the incoming administration's priorities, getting man back to the Moon is low on the list. A space exploration crisis is on the horizon, but what damage would it cause? We are reaching an age where other nations are investing in space exploration too. The European Space Agency (ESA) is rapidly growing, Russia has one of the most robust launch systems on the planet, China is making huge leaps in manned spaceflight, India has sent a probe to the Moon; the list is growing by the month. Alas, by making cutbacks to the Constellation Program, the US will start depending on Russia for manned access to space if a commercial alternative isn't available in time. Investment in space provides independence, economic growth and preparation for the future. Well, we'll just have to hope for the best.

http://www.spacedaily.com/2006/090116102328.i8lrzj93.html

Plumes of methane gas detected on Mars could be a sign of geological or biological activity – and possibly the latest indication that life can be sustained on the Red Planet, according to a new study. The presence of methane implies active geological, or possibly even biological, processes on Mars, and the amount of methane observed on the 'Red Planet' is comparable to some active sites on Earth. "It does tell us the planet is still alive, at least in a geologic sense. It is as if Mars is challenging us, saying, 'hey, find out what this means.' " said principal researcher Michael Mumma of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre. Mumma said he believed the finding increases the prospects for finding life on Mars.

It seems a few of our Ad Astra subscribers haven't been receiving their magazine on time. We've been told this was due to problems in the US publishing house. Most of the "Winter 2008" issues seem to have found their way to us now. The winter issue has a feature article on near-earth asteroids and the likelihood of collision. If you are not receiving Ad Astra, you should let us know. The magazine is handled by NSS in the United States, so you should email membership@nss.org with the subject "Ad Astra not receiving". Include your full name and membership details, and copy president@nssa.com.au so we can help you follow it up.

If you are on Facebook you can join the NSSA group:http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2960810088

How to start an NSSA Chapter

Have you got a group of friends that enjoy discussing space? Would you like to do it regularly and get recognised for your efforts? Well here is your chance! Start a new NSSA Chapter today, it's this easy:


1. Identify which of your friends enjoy chatting about space issues

2. Suggest that a group of you get together one time to talk about space eg. at a cafe

3. If it goes well then suggest you do it regularly eg. once a month

4. Once you have 5 people who are NSSA members let NSSA know and request recognition as a chapter.

5. Ask NSSA for the contact details of other members in your area.

6. Find a regular venue to meet eg. Uni tutorial room or a community centre

7. Appoint a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer (although these do not need to be three separate people).

8. Each chapter receives a share of the membership fees paid by their members who join or renew each year.

9. Arrange a guest speaker eg. A local university lecturer

10. Organise a public outreach event eg. Have a stand at a public event such as National Science Week

11. NSSA can tell you when people of note will be in your area and help you invite them to your meeting as a speaker eg. Andy Thomas is occasionally in Adelaide.

12. Inform the Board of your activities if you are doing something exciting.

13. Have the chance to stand for election to the Board as your Chapters representative.