On Friday 14 December NASA Administrator Dr Mike Griffin and British-born Shuttle astronaut Piers Sellers will be amongst speakers joining leading astronomers and planetary scientists at the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London to consider the merits of human exploration and scientific study from the surface of the Moon.
ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PRESS INFORMATION NOTE
Date: 13 December 2007 For Immediate Release
Ref.: PN 07/51
Issued by:
Dr Robert Massey
RAS Press Officer
Royal Astronomical Society
Burlington House
Piccadilly
London W1J 0BQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7734 3307 / 4582
Mob: +44 (0)794 124 8035
E-mail:
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ASTRONOMY ON THE MOON? SCIENTISTS, NASA CHIEF AND UK-BORN ASTRONAUT DISCUSS SCIENCE FROM OUR NEAREST NEIGHBOUR
On Friday 14 December NASA Administrator Dr Mike Griffin and British-born Shuttle astronaut Piers Sellers will be amongst speakers joining leading astronomers and planetary scientists at the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London to consider the merits of human exploration and scientific study from the surface of the Moon.
In recent years there has been a new interest in the Moon, both as a subject for research in its own right and as a destination for astronauts (the last Apollo mission left in 1972 and no-one has since returned).
Delegates at two RAS-sponsored meetings will discuss these issues on Friday. Firstly, from 1030-1530 scientists will gather in the Lecture Theatre of the RAS in London, to review the prospects for using our neighbouring world as a platform for studies of the wider Universe. Topics for discussion include using a radio telescope on the far side of the Moon to look for Earth-like planets around other stars, observing the Earth from the Moon and building a lunar X-ray telescope.
Then at 1600, RAS fellows will reconvene in the Lecture Theatre of the nearby Geological Society to hear a talk by Dr Mike Griffin and supported by Dr Piers Sellers on the theme of ‘Lunar Exploration: the value of expanding the human range of action’.
Professor Mario Livio (Space Telescope Science Institute) will then review the achievements of the Hubble Space Telescope and Professor Martin Rees (Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, President of the Royal Society and member of the House of Lords) will outline the key challenges for astronomy in the next 25 years. Bona fide members of the media who wish to attend these meetings should present their credentials at the registration desk for free admission. FURTHER INFORMATION Royal Astronomical Society www.ras.org.uk
Images and animations will be available for media use on the day of the meeting.
CONTACT
Dr Robert Massey
Royal Astronomical Society
(Details above)
Professor Ian Crawford (meeting co-chair)
School of Earth Sciences
Birkbeck College
University of London
Malet St
London WC1E 7HX
Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 3431
Mob: +44 (0)777 623 4317
E-mail:
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Professor John Zarnecki (meeting co-chair)
Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute (PSSRI)
The Open University
Robert Hooke Building
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA
Tel: +44 (0)1908 659599
Mob: +44 (0)776 994 3883
E-mail:
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NOTES FOR EDITORS
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. The RAS organizes scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognizes outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 3000 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others.
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