Thursday, September 5, 7:30pm

The recent discovery of what some believe to be microscopic fossils of an ancient lifeform in a meteorite from Mars is one of the most exciting since the dawn of the Space Age. While the results to date are far from conclusive, they have opened a debate on the true nature of the find and the ramifications to science, religion, and philosophy if it proves to be true. Local freelance science writer and President of the Boston Chapter of the National Space Society, Andrew LePage, will review the latest findings from the study of this Martian meteorite, the important questions still left unanswered and what it all means to the future of space exploration and our view of our place in the Universe.

Note: The Mission HOME Town Meeting planned for Boston on September 14th has been postponed until at least early next year. When we receive more information from the meeting organizers we will pass it along.

PASA meets regularly for a business luncheon and formal meeting from 1-3 pm, the third Saturday of every month at Smart Alex Restaurant, Sheraton University City, 35th & Chestnut. 2 hours free parking with validation.
    Scheduled activities: Sat., September 21st, formal meeting; Thurs., October 3rd, 6:30 pm informal meeting; Sat., October 19th, formal meeting; November 22-24, Philcon. Call Michelle for details.
    July 20th meeting: The Space Day exhibition at Trenton State Museum had a moderate turnout, but everyone agreed that the quality of the visitors to our exhibit was better than at some of our past events. We will investigate exhibiting at their next Super Science Weekend, which tends to be better attended.
    August 17th meeting: Earl Bennett's technical report covered the Hyper-Spectral Imager (HSI) satellite, which will analyze the Earth's surface at multiple frequencies, and how it might be applied to analyzing Mars' surface, a spectrometer on a chip, and the X-33 and X-34.
    Hank Smith talked about PASA plans for presenting and exhibiting at Philcon in November. Jay Haines talked about putting PASA on the WWW via LibertyNet, the WWW destination for Philadelphia-area information.
    Michelle Baker talked about the NSS-sponsored student experiments to fly aboard the Columbia Space Shuttle, probably in November or December.
This was made possible through a donation by Instrumentation Technology Associates of Malvern PA. Anyone who knows teachers in the Philadelphia area who might be interested in having their students participate should contact Michelle.
    Earl is coordinating the construction of a Slingatron-launcher working demonstrator. Anyone interested in assisting, call him at (610)644-8654.

The National Space Society (NSS) and San Diego-based International Space Enterprises (ISE) announced today their sponsorship of the Third Annual International Lunar and Mars Exploration Conference, to be held in San Diego on 17-20 November 1996. Focused on lunar exploration the previous two years, this year's conference will offer expanded programs on the topic of Mars exploration.
    A special feature of this year's event will be a half day session entitled "Life on Mars: Past, Present, and Future," offering several lectures and dramatic presentations addressing NASA's recent discovery of indications of possible life on Mars. The session will be led by Dr.
Robert Zubrin, Chairman of the NSS Executive Committee and noted advocate of human voyages to the Red Planet. Dr. Zubrin will speak on the need to send humans to Mars and will sign copies of his book, The Case for Mars, due to be released this fall.
    The conference, to be held at the Hyatt Islandia Hotel on San Diego's Mission Bay, will convene many of the world's leading lunar and planetary scientists. In addition, aerospace entrepreneurs will present innovative plans for corporate sponsorship of low cost Moon and Mars missions, commercial space tourism, and beaming solar energy to Earth from space.
    In a unique public demonstration, ISE will invite conference participants to view and operate the robotic Mars Seeker, a new prototype of a rover ISE hopes to deliver to Mars on a commercially financed, interplanetary voyage. The Mars Seeker prototype will be the centerpiece of a permanent interactive exhibit at NASA's Kennedy Space Center beginning in December.
    Confirmed conference participants to date include Dr. Zubrin, space tourism expert John Spencer, and Dr. Alan Binder, principal investigator for NASA's next mission to the Moon -- Lunar Prospector. To register for the conference, reserve exhibit space, or obtain additional information, please contact Gregory Nemitz of ISE [phone: (619) 637-5773, fax: (619) 637-5776, e-mail: isehq@aol.com] or call the National Space Society at (202) 543-1900.

Oklahoma Space Alliance chapter of the National Space Society will host the Southwest Regional Space Development Conference for NSS Region 3 during November 22-24, 1996, in conjunction with SoonerCon 12 science-fiction convention. This year's SWSDC theme is "Using Space-Based Resources.
    Our Space Guest of Honor is G. Harry Stine, author of "The Third Industrial Revolution" and the Sept.-release "Halfway to Anywhere." Other space guests include NSS Director David Brandt, Dr. T. H. Lee Williams of the University of Oklahoma, Wayne Weirick of Kirkpatrick Planetarium, Loretta McKibben and Dr. Jeanne Schneider of the National Severe Storms Lab, John Strickland, Jr. of Austin Space Frontier Society, and Joe King from EOSAT's Oklahoma ground station.
    SoonerCon 12's Guest of Honor is Kim Stanley Robinson, author of the "Red Mars"/"Green Mars"/"Blue Mars" novels; their Fan Guest of Honor is Roy Lavender, who helped design the Apollo hardware. At least 50 additional SoonerCon 12 guests will make presentations.
    Although there'll be science programming all 3 days, most NSS-related events will be Saturday, as will an optional "Project Space Colony " workshop ($10 at the workshop: limit 20). On Sunday, we're planning an optional tour of the National Severe Storms Lab, star of "Twister" (about 30 miles from hotel, free). Everyone at SoonerCon 12 is invited; the same admission covers both.
    For more information about SWSDC, contact Syd Henderson (405-321-4027, sydh@uoknor.edu) or Claire Stephens (405-329-4326, claire@uoknor.edu). Both phones take messages.
    For written information about the space conference or SoonerCon 12, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the appropriate HQ:

Okla. Space Alliance NSS, 1206 Classen Blvd, Norman, OK, 73071
or SoonerCon 12, P.O. Box 892687, Oklahoma City, OK, 73189-2687.

    Joint admission to SoonerCon 12/SWSDC is $18 if bought by 9/30/96 or $22 by 11/5/96. Okla. Space Alliance has a limited number of $15 joint admissions on a first-come first-served basis. DO NOT SEND MONEY until you've asked for a registration form & checked availability.