Broadcast 1824 (Special Edition)

Guest: Susan Holden Martin. Topics: Mars Society 2012 Conference, MSL & Curiosity landing, JPL. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Susan Holden Martin, the new Executive Director of The Mars Society, to the program to discuss this year's conference, the MSL mission & landing, and more. You can follow along with us regarding the conference program at www.marssociety.org/convention2012. The conference is being held in Pasadena, CA from August 3-5 at the Pasadena Convention Center. As our program was an ongoing conference and JPL-Mars Science Lab discussion, I am summarizing our discussion without regard to segments. Note the discussion on conference registration and hotels in the area given the conference begins in just a few days and online registration is now closed. We summarized most of the agenda, highlighted the special programs, panels, and guests, and talked conference logistics. Listeners asked about the Curiosity landing, putting heavy payloads on the surface of Mars, and the Sky Crane which will be used in the landing process. Later in the program, Susan discussed the arrangements with The Planetary Society & their program at the Pasadena Convention Center, Planetfest 2012 which is going on at the same time. We also talked about the Conference banquet, the award to Elon Musk, Falcon 9 models on Amazon (use the OGLF code if you buy one so that Amazon will donate to The Space Show, www.amazon.com/SpaceX-Falcon-Dragon-Flying-Rocket/dp/B006GX14R8/ref=one…). Another key part of the conference is direct feed from JPL to see the Curiosity landing Sunday evening, August 5, 10:30 PM PDT. During the last few minutes of the program, Susan updated us on other Mars Society programs including MDRS, the University Rover Competition, the Musk Observatory, the Mars Society in the UK, and more. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you have conference questions or want to be in touch with Ms. Martin, you can email her at susanm@marssociety.org.