Dr. Douglas D. McLennan has been at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for over 23 years and has been instrumental in the development and management of Earth Science, Earth Observatory and Planetary missions. Dr. McLennan began his career managing the development of the six instruments and the AQUA spacecraft for the Earth Observing System (EOS) mission. After the successful completion of the mission, Dr. McLennan was appointed Deputy Project Manager for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) Series N-Q. In 1999, Dr. McLennan was promoted to Project Manger of the Space Technology 5 (ST-5) mission. The ST-5 mission consisted of three micro-sat satellites integrated into a single suite. In 2005, Dr. McLennan was appointed as Project Manager to the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) mission. The SAM instrument was successfully delivered, integrated and tested as part of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover. Currently, Dr. McLennan is the Project Manager of ICESat-2 mission. The ICESat-2 mission is the next cryo-spheric remote sensing satellite mission providing coverage of the Earth’s surfaces. Dr. McLennan received his PhD from Georgetown University, Washington DC.

Changes in Ice sheet thicknesses, sea level, and sea ice extent have been explicitly identified as a current priority in the President’s Climate Change Science Program, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, the 4th Assessment Report of the IPCC and other national and international policy documents. In response the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) formulated the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission to continue the exploration and understanding of our planet. The ICESat-2 is a remote sensing satellite mission providing coverage of the Earth’s surfaces. The ICESat-2 mission will provide multi-year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance. It will also provide topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

The ICESat-2 observatory is comprised of one instrument, a laser altimeter called ATLAS (Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System). ATLAS is a laser altimeter, utilizing a measurement technique known as photon counting, which is designed to measure ice-sheet topography and associated temporal changes.

This presentation will focus on the role of ICESat-2 mission as we monitor the changes in the global cryosphere and the generation and subsequent distribution of data products to the user community. An overview of the mission will also be presented.

Dr. Heather E. Hudson is Director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) and Professor of Public Policy at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Previously, she was founding Director of the Communications Technology Management and Policy Program at the University of San Francisco. Her work focuses on applications of ICTs for socio-economic development, regulation and policy issues including universal service/access, and policies and strategies to extend affordable access to new technologies and services, particularly in rural and remote areas.

Prof. Hudson has planned and evaluated communication projects in Alaska, northern Canada, and more than 50 developing countries and emerging economies in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and the South Pacific. She has consulted for the private sector, government agencies, consumer and indigenous organizations, and international organizations. She is currently an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, and been a keynote speaker for IEEE chapters in South Africa, Tanzania, and New Zealand.

She has written many articles and several books, and has presented numerous conference papers and as well as expert testimony on communications policy issues such as universal service and access, incentives for investing in information infrastructure, restructuring of the telecommunications sector, and telecommunications planning for socio-economic development. She is the author of From Rural Village to Global Village: Telecommunications for Developing in the Information Age; Global Connections: International Telecommunications Infrastructure and Policy; Communication Satellites: Their Development and Impact and When Telephones Reach the Village, and co-author of Electronic Byways: State Policies for Rural Development through Telecommunications and Rural America in the Information Age.

In fall 2009, she held the Fulbright Visiting North American Policy Research Chair at Carleton University in Ottawa to conduct a comparative study of Canadian and U.S. broadband policies. She has also been a Sloan Foundation Industry Fellow at Columbia University’s Institute for Tele-Information, has held a Fulbright Distinguished Lectureship for the Asia/Pacific, and has been an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Hong Kong, and Senior Fellow at CIRCIT in Australia, and at the East-West Center in Hawaii.

She has served as a board member of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC), Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (TPRC), Women in Telecommunications (WiT), Farm Radio International, and the International Council for Computer Communications (ICCC). She has served on the editorial boards of Telecommunications Policy, Information Technologies and International Development, and The Journal of Community Informatics.

She has been a member of Advisory Committees of the U.S. National Research Council, the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Commerce and the Office of Technology Assessment. Her research has been funded by inter alia the Benton Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, the International Development Research Centre, the World Bank, the International Telecommunication Union, the Aspen Institute, and the Telecommunications Education Trust.

This presentation will examine the role of satellites in linking isolated communities in the Arctic, particularly in Alaska, with examples also from Northern Canada and Greenland. It will include a review of telemedicine, distance education, e-commerce, e-government, and indigenous cultural applications. Also covered will be current projects in Alaska funded by Stimulus grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Rural Utilities Service. Current policy issues including technology trends, expansion of broadband, and universal service fund support for rural areas will also be addressed.

Dr. Lawson Brigham is Distinguished Professor of Geography & Arctic Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of the North in Anchorage. During 2005-2009 he was chair and U.S. co-lead of the Arctic Council's Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) and Vice Chair of the Council's working group on Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME). Dr. Brigham was a career U.S. Coast Guard officer from 1970-95, retiring with the rank of Captain. He commanded four Coast Guard cutters, as well as serving at Coast Guard Headquarters. In 1994, he commanded the polar icebreaker Polar Sea crossing the Arctic Ocean with the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent. He is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Naval War College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Cambridge. His research interests for more than three decades have focused on the Soviet/Russian maritime Arctic, Arctic climate change, marine transportation, remote sensing of sea ice, Arctic environmental protection, and polar geopolitics.

About the topic: Guest: Derek Webber. Topics: Space tourism, aviation and rocket history per his book, The Wright Stuff: The Century of Effort Behind Your Ticket to Space.

Peter L. Hays works for SAIC supporting the Department of Defense and the Eisenhower Center, and teaches at George Washington University. He helps develop space policy initiatives including the National Defense University Spacepower Theory Study. Dr Hays holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School and was an honor graduate of the USAF Academy. He served internships at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and National Space Council and taught space policy courses at the USAF Academy, School of Advanced Airpower Studies, and National Defense University. Major publications include: Spacepower for a New Millennium; “Going Boldly—Where?” and United States Military Space.

Recent military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo indicate space capabilities have become a foundational enabler of most U.S. military actions and an increasingly important component of U.S. national security. Worldwide, there is growing recognition and focus on the broad and ubiquitous contributions space capabilities make to global prosperity and security. The 2001 Space Commission Report found that because U.S. military and economic security has become so dependent on space capabilities, the nation could face a “space Pearl Harbor.” The U.S. National Space Policy released in October 2006 stated: “In this new century, those who effectively utilize space will enjoy added prosperity and security and will hold a substantial advantage over those who do not. Freedom of action in space is as important to the United States as air power and sea power.” And the National Space Policy of the United States of America released in June 2010 indicates: “Space systems allow people and governments around the world to see with clarity, communicate with certainty, navigate with accuracy, and operate with assurance.

Dr. Wendell Mendell is a Planetary Scientist serving as Assistant Administrator for Exploration in the Directorate for Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science of the NASA Johnson Space Center, where he has been employed since 1963. He is married and has four children. Dr. Mendell has a B.S. in physics from CalTech; a M.S. in physics from UCLA; and a M.S. in Space Science and a Ph.D. in Space Physics and Astronomy from Rice University. His scientific research focus is remote sensing of planetary surfaces, particularly specializing in thermal emission radiometry and spectroscopy of the Moon. Since 1982, his activities in NASA have focused on planning and advocacy of human exploration of the solar system, especially on the establishment of a permanent human base on the Moon. His interests lay as much with policy issues as with technical solutions. He is most well known as the editor of the volume, Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century; and he received the 1988 Space Pioneer Award for Science and Engineering from the National Space Society for this work. Dr. Mendell is currently detailed to the Constellation Systems Program Office as Chief, Office for Lunar & Planetary Exploration,. He acts as a liaison between the scientific community and the Program responsible for implementing the Vision for Space Exploration. He is an Associate Faculty of the International Space University. At the ISU, he has led Design Projects for an International Lunar Base (1988), International Mars Mission (1991), International Lunar Farside Observatory and Science Station (1993), Vision 20/20 [a sampling of the future as seen by young space professionals] (1995), and Space Tourism: From Dream to Reality (2000). He belongs to several professional scientific and engineering societies. He is most active in the International Academy of Astronautics, where he is currently serving on Academic Commission III; and in the AIAA, where he has chaired the Space Science and Astronomy Technical Committee and sits on the International Activities Committee. He served on (and chaired) the Executive Committee of the Aerospace Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He has been editor for nine technical volumes and has published over 40 articles in professional journals and conference proceedings. He is also author of numerous abstracts and short papers presented at technical conferences.

On February 1, 2010, the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2011 was released. NASA received an increase, unlike almost any other federal agency. At the same time, the budget revealed that the Constellation Program would be cancelled and that NASA would look to private sector providers for transportation of cargo, and eventually crew members, to the International Space Station. The Constellation Program had included a human return to the Moon by the year 2020, and the program plans called for a permanent surface facility capable of supporting human explorers. In the FY2011 announcement, the prescription of a lunar objective was replaced by a concept called “flexible path” that was advertised to open possibilities of other types of human missions beyond low Earth orbit.The policy direction has polarized the U.S. space community, where the reactions have been swift and polemical. The new policy has been described both as the death knell of human space exploration and as the only hope to save human space exploration. Some members of Congress have threatened legal action based on the current law regarding appropriation of funds to NASA, which states that Constellation cannot be cancelled without prior consultation with Congress. As might be expected, some of the reaction is directly related to losses or gains of jobs in districts associated with NASA facilities. However, various statements show high emotional content, suggesting that personal belief systems have been challenged. Meanwhile, many details of the new policy are not yet clear; and some aspects seem to be shifting in response to political reaction. The final direction for NASA will not be known until the FY2011 budget has been passed by Congress and signed by the President.I will draw upon my 28 years’ of studying, writing, and speaking on the topic of future human exploration beyond low Earth orbit to discuss the various issues at stake and the historical context for the debate. My own work has had a central theme of lunar exploration and development, but I have also come to believe that human exploration will never be more than a political sideshow until a significant economic sector can be created in space off of the Earth. Disclaimer: The views presented will be my own and in no way reflect official policies of the NASA.

Robert Zubrin, formerly a Staff Engineer at Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver is now president of his own company, Pioneer Astronautics. He holds Masters degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering. He is the inventor of several unique concepts for space propulsion and exploration, the author of over 200 published technical and non-technical papers in the field, as well the non-fiction books 'The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must' (Simon and Schuster 1996), 'Entering Space' (Tarcher Putnam 1999), and 'Mars on Earth' (Tarcher Penguin 2003). He is also the author of the novels 'The Holy Land' (Polaris Books, 2003) and 'First Landing' (Ace 2001), and most recently, the science-humor immigrant guidebook, 'How to Live on Mars' (Three Rivers Press, 2008). He is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and former Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Space Society. Most recently, he founded the Mars Society; an international organization dedicated to furthering the exploration and settlement of Mars by both public and private means. In that capacity, he personally led the construction and operation of a human Mars exploration training station on Devon Island, an uninhabited island in the Canadian Arctic 900 miles form the North Pole. Prior to his work in astronautics, Dr. Zubrin was employed in areas of thermonuclear fusion research, nuclear engineering, radiation protection, and as a high school science teacher.

In July 1989, on the 20th anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing, the first President Bush called for America to renew its pioneering push into space with the establishment of a permanent Lunar base and a series of human missions to Mars. While many have said that such an endeavor would be excessively costly and take many decades, a small team at Martin Marietta drew up a daring plan that could sharply cut costs and send a group of American astronauts to the Red Planet within ten years. The plan, known as "Mars Direct", has attracted international attention and broad controversy, including coverage in such publications as Newsweek, Fortune, The Economist, Air and Space Smithsonian, the New York Times, the London Times, the Boston Globe and Izvestia. It has also been covered by the Discovery Channel, PBS, ABC, NBC, CBS, National Public Radio, and the BBC. Its principal author, Robert Zubrin, has presented it to such fora as the International Astronautical Federation congress in Germany, and the blue ribbon "Synthesis Group" headed by former Apollo astronaut General Thomas Stafford, the Augustine Committee, as well as to various government officials, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former NASA Administrators Dan Goldin and Mike Griffin.

Now, with nation debating how to proceed with human space exploration, the “Mars Direct” plan is more relevant than ever: Can Americans reach the Red Planet in our time?

Chris Moore has worked at NASA for 24 years. He is the Deputy Director of the Advanced Capabilities Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, where he leads the development of advanced technology for future exploration missions. From 1985 to 2002, he worked at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia where he designed, integrated, and tested Space Shuttle payloads, and conducted research on robotics. He received a Ph. D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1991, a M. S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1984, and a B. S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia in 1983. In his free time, Chris likes to run, ski, read, and travel to other countries.

Current plans call for the first human missions to Mars to be launched around 2030. The recently completed "Mars Design Reference Mission 5.0" study defines a conceptual mission architecture and identifies enabling technologies. NASA is beginning long-range development on key technologies needed for these missions because it will take many years for them to reach maturity. The ISS and the lunar outpost will be used as test beds for these technologies to reduce risk and prepare for human exploration of Mars.

Dr Pascal Lee is Chairman of the Mars Institute, a planetary scientist at the SETI Institute, and Director of the Haughton-Mars Project at NASA Ames Research Center. He has worked extensively in the Arctic and Antarctica viewed as “analogs” for the Moon and Mars. He was first to propose the Cold Early Mars model based on his field work in Earth’s polar regions. Dr Lee is internationally recognized for his efforts to advance the human exploration of Mars, in particular via its moons Phobos and Deimos. He was recently scientist-pilot in the first field test of NASA’s new Small Pressurized Rover, a concept vehicle currently under development for the future human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

The first human mission to Mars will likely be humanity’s greatest undertaking in space exploration in the 21st century. As with all expeditions, its success will depend on planning. The first steps towards a human journey to the Red Planet are already underway, as we explore extreme environments on Earth and prepare for new journeys to the Moon, near-Earth asteroids, and the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. Dr Pascal Lee will discuss progress being made around the world, from the Arctic to Antarctica, to achieve these milestones. He will examine in turn the what, why, when, who, and how of a human mission to Mars. Specific lessons learned from the NASA Haughton-Mars Project will be discussed.

Extravehicular activity is one of the most critical areas for planetary exploration. On Mars, due to gravity conditions, dust contamination and a specific thermal scenario, a special kind of suit is required to protect the astronauts. Since 2005 the Department of Space Studies at UND has been researching in the area of planetary space suit systems and developed the NDX-1 a Mars suit demonstrator which was tested on Earth under analog conditions. As a result of these studies new developments are taking place and a series of design improvements have been done to prepare a suit that can cope with the Mars conditions. Since a space suit is just part of the extravehicular system, an integrated design of the mission contemplating all different aspects of the tasks to accomplish, is required. A new NASA grant is allowing the Department of Space Studies to develop a complete minimal mission scenario including inflatable habitat, airlocks, rovers and space suit, to attempt to address all the different problems related to a human mission to Mars.

A mission to Mars and return to Earth will take more than two years, possibly a lot more. The travelers will be exposed to microgravity, radiation, and sensory deprivation, and other space phenomena in amounts which have never been experienced or tested before. For example, the longest stay in space microgravity on board the Russian space station Mir performed by Russian cosmonaut-physician Valery Polyakov was 438 Earth days.

Rygalov will address questions such how can astronauts survive this long duration trip in hostile environments of space? How can they maintain their health for an acceptable level of performance? What are those natural mechanisms which help people to survive in extreme environments? Rygalov also will discuss available techniques and current research trends in human factors in space.

The status of NASA’s Constellation program has been in question since it was first proposed in 2004. In the last year or two, its status had become even more questionable. The recent US budget included the new NASA budget. The NASA Administrator, Chuck Bolden Said on February 1, 2010: “So this budget cancels the Constellation Program.”

David Whalen (background), Michael Gaffey (budget analysis), and James Casler (Business and Management) of the Space Studies Department at UND will discuss this shocking—but not surprising—announcement and its implications. This will be followed by Q&A and general discussion. All are welcome to attend.

The planet Mars has been long identified as a target for human space missions and possible human settlements. Since the 1986 discovery of possible – but very controversial – microbial fossils in the Martian meteorite ALH 84001, a fleet of unmanned spacecraft from several nations have visited the Red Planet. Although many questions remain to be resolved, we now know a great deal more about Mars than we did in 1989 when NASA, at the request of the President, outlined a scenario for a manned Mars mission. In this presentation we will outline the present state of knowledge concerning the nature and history of the planet Mars, with a special focus on aspects which would impact planning for a manned Mars mission and future human settlements.

Developing space resources or a space business venture requires capital. Lots of it. Especially early on in the life cycle of a new business. While there are some differences in a space business as compared to a terrestrial business, there are many more similarities than one might believe. In fact, business rules are pretty much business rules be it a space business of some type or a terrestrial business in an established industry. While business planning and due diligence are common, even routine in evaluating and managing terrestrial businesses, this is not so in some areas of space, particularly with the NewSpace industry. What makes NewSpace different? Why is it so hard to do real due diligence regarding all aspects of the business, not just for management or potential markets, but also technical and engineering due diligence regarding the end product of the company in question. Why does the wish list mentality prevail and why are those applying real standards to claims, rhetoric, and Power Points often attacked and accused of not being with the program?

These and other issues such as assumptions making and commonly used foolish terminology and rhetoric will be discussed in this presentation.

SpaceX is revolutionizing access to space by developing a family of launch vehicles and spacecraft intended to increase the reliability and reduce the cost of both manned and unmanned space transportation. This presentation will highlight the details of the Falcon 1 (F1), Falcon 9 (F9) and Dragon programs that SpaceX is currently undertaking.

Falcon 1
On September 28, 2008, the Falcon 1, designed and manufactured from the ground up by SpaceX, became the first privately developed liquid fuel rocket to orbit the Earth. Details of the F1 vehicle will be presented along with video from the first flight.

Falcon 9
As a winner of the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services competition (COTS), SpaceX is in a position to help fill the gap in American spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) when the Space Shuttle retires in 2010. The Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle is the platform that will be used to provide access to the ISS. Details of the design, manufacture and testing of the F9 vehicle will be presented along with a video of the nine-engine, full duration test performed in our McGregor, TX test site.

Dragon
The Dragon spacecraft is made up of a capsule and trunk used for Earth to LEO transport of cargo and/or crew members. Details of the design, manufacture and testing of the Dragon capsule will be presented along with samples of PICAX (a SpaceX developed heat shield material).

In his two talks beginning at 4.00 PM, Dr. Narain will first trace the history of India's remote sensing program and then follow it up with a presentation on India's recent unmanned moon mission. India's space program has made significant progress over the years in launch vehicle development, pay loads for communication and remote sensing, and recently joined an exclusive club of few countries that have capabilities to orbit and study the moon. Much of this has been achieved by the various centers of the Indian Space Research Organization and technology transfer to the private industries. The talks will cover how India's space program has resulted in societal benefits through management of natural resources, tele-education and tele-medicine.

Roger D. Launius is senior curator in the Division of Space History at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Between 1990 and 2002 he served as chief historian of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A graduate of Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa, he received his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, in 1982. He has written or edited more than twenty books on aerospace history, including Robots in Space: Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008); Societal Impact of Spaceflight (NASA SP-2007-4801, 2007); Critical Issues in the History of Spaceflight (NASA SP-2006-4702, 2006); Space Stations: Base Camps to the Stars (Smithsonian Books, 2003), which received the AIAA's history manuscript prize; Reconsidering a Century of Flight (University of North Carolina Press, 2003); To Reach the High Frontier: A History of U.S. Launch Vehicles (University Press of Kentucky, 2002); Imagining Space: Achievements, Possibilities, Projections, 1950-2050 (Chronicle Books, 2001); Reconsidering Sputnik: Forty Years Since the Soviet Satellite (Harwood Academic, 2000); Innovation and the Development of Flight (Texas A&M University Press, 1999); Frontiers of Space Exploration (Greenwood Press, 1998, rev. ed. 2004); Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership (University of Illinois Press, 1997); and NASA: A History of the U.S. Civil Space Program (Krieger Publishing Co., 1994, rev. ed. 2001). He served as a consultant to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003 and presented the prestigious Harmon Memorial Lecture on the history of national security space policy at the United States Air Force Academy in 2006. He is frequently consulted by the electronic and print media for his views on space issues, and has been a guest commentator on National Public Radio and all the major television network news programs.

Why Go to the Moon? The Many Faces of Lunar Policy. What is it about the Moon that captures the fancy of Humankind? A silvery disk hanging in the night sky, it conjures up images of romance and magic. It has been counted upon to foreshadow important events, both of good an ill, and its phases for eons served humanity as its most accurate measure of time. This paper discusses the Moon as a target for Human exploration and eventual settlement. This paper will explore the more than 50-year efforts to reach the Moon, succeeding with space probes and humans in Project Apollo in the 1960s and early 1970s. It will then discuss the rationales for spaceflight suggesting that human space exploration is one of the least compelling of all that might be offered. The paper will then discuss efforts to make the Moon a second home, including post-Apollo planning, the Space Exploration Initiative, and problems and opportunities in the 2004 Vision for Space Exploration.

T Tauri stars are low mass, pre-main sequence stars, many of which are still surrounded by active accretion disks where it is believed planet formation is currently under way. Stellar magnetic fields including a strong dipole component on these newly formed stars are believed to play a critical role in the early evolution of the young star plus disk system. It is currently believed that the stellar magnetic field truncates the accretion disk several stellar radii above the star. This action forces accreting material to flow along the field lines and accrete onto the star at high stellar latitudes. It is also thought that the stellar rotation rate becomes locked to the Keplerian velocity at the radius where the disk is truncated. I will review recent efforts to measure the magnetic field properties of T Tauri stars, focussing on how the observations compare with the theoretical expectations. A picture is emerging indicating that quite strong fields do indeed cover the majority of the surface on young stars; however, the dipole component of the field appears to be alarmingly small. I will also briefly discuss recent work on the origins of magnetic fields in fully convective stars such as T Tauri stars.

Saturn's moon Titan is larger than the planet Mercury and has a dense atmosphere like a planet. Until Cassini and its atmosphere-piercing radar got to Saturn little was known of Titan. Now with ~30% of the surface revealed Titan is seen to have a very young surface, with deserts of dunes, rivers, and hundreds of lakes and a few large seas of liquid methane/ethane. We can infer that Titan is dynamically active, possibly with erupting volcanoes, blowing sediments, rainfall and rising and falling lake levels. In the debate about what is a planet, Titan would be considered a planet in all ways - except that it orbits another one.

One decade ago, the astrophysics community was shaken to its core with the announcement that the expansion rate of the Universe was speeding up rather than slowing down due to gravity. This discovery - corroborated at the time by two independent teams searching for supernovae -indicates that the Universe is filled with a mysterious negative pressure or "Dark Energy". For the past 10 years, theorists have invoked numerous mechanisms to help explain this force, including Einstein's cosmological constant, extra dimensions, quintessence, and even hypothesizing the breakdown of General Relativity on cosmological scales.

To acquire a deeper understanding of dark energy, the Dark Energy Task Force (jointly commissioned by NASA, DOE, and NSF) has recommended that an aggressive program be established to fully characterize dark energy. A part of this process includes support for a new large-area, ground-based optical survey to chart the position and brightness of several hundred million galaxies out to a redshift of order unity. The leading contender that will satisfy these requirements is the Dark Energy Survey (DES).

The DES is a 5000 square degree photometric survey that will image the South Galactic Cap in multiple filters (griz), using a new 3 sq. deg. CCD camera mounted to the Blanco 4-meter telescope in Chile. The nature of dark energy will be probed utilizing four independent but complementary techniques: the redshift distribution of galaxy clusters, weak gravitational lensing by large-scale structure, the angular correlation of galaxies as imprinted in the baryon acoustic oscillations, and supernova distances. As a member of the DES, I will explain how these techniques will allow us to unravel the mystery of dark energy.

Melchor J. Antuñano, M.D., M.S. has been the Director of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) since January 14, 2001. CAMI is located at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) in Oklahoma City. Dr. Antuñano provides executive direction and is responsible for the administrative oversight of FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine's programs in Medical Certification, Medical Education, Medical Research, Human Factors Research, and Occupational Health Services, that are critical and integral elements of the Office of Aviation Safety (AVS). He is the focal point in leading the activities of a professional, technical, and clerical team engaged in the policy development, planning, evaluating, and administering of: 1) a program to fulfill the medical certification needs of approximately 620,000 holders of U.S. pilot certificates, 2) a program for the selection, designation, training, and management of about 5,000 Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs) appointed to conduct physical examinations and issue FAA medical certificates to pilot certificate holders throughout the U.S. and in 93 countries worldwide, 3) medical education programs in aviation physiology, global survival, and aviation human factors for FAA flight crews and civil aviation pilots, 4) medical publications and other didactic materials used to disseminate medical information to promote aerospace safety, 5) a highly specialized library system in support of a broad range of aerospace medical and safety reference/research programs, 6) an integrated program of field and laboratory performance research in organizational and human factors aspects of aerospace work environments, 7) an applied research program to identify human tolerances, capabilities and failure modes (physiological, psychological, and performance) both in uneventful flights, and during civilian in-flight incidents and accidents, 8) an occupational medicine program to improve the safety of FAA employees, and 9) a medical clinic that provides health services to employees and students at the MMAC.

This presentation will discuss a number of physiological,operational, and environmental risk factors (actual and potential) for the occupants of commercial space vehicles. Actual risks include exposure to: 1) High acceleration of flight profiles, 2) Decreased barometric pressure, 3) Microgravity, 4) Solar and galactic cosmic radiation, 4) Noise and vibration. Of particular concern are the effects of exposure (short-term and long-term) to microgravity on the cardiovascular, neurological, endocrinological, muscleskeletal, and gastro-intestinal systems, among healthy and diseased passengers. Furthermore, U.S. and Russian experience regarding space physiology and medicine involve short-term and long-term space flights but does not address the effects of: 1) Frequent repetitive exposure (several times a week) to flight profiles involving: normal gravity (pre-flight) - acceleration (launch/take off) - microgravity (space) - deceleration (return) - normal gravity (post-flight), 2) Frequent repetitive exposure to solar and cosmic radiation, and 3) Exposure to microgravity among individuals who have medical pathology. Other potential risk factors include unexpected exposure to: temperature extremes, in-flight cabin fire, cabin air contaminates, electricity, non-ionizing radiation, mechanical hazards, impact forces during crash landings, post-crash fire, emergency evacuation, and post-evacuation survival.

P. Diane Rausch currently serves as the Director, Advisory Committee Management Division, in the Office of External Relations, NASA Headquarters. Appointed to this position in 2004 by the NASA Administrator, she provides management oversight and executive direction for all of NASA's external independent advisory committees. She also serves as the Executive Director of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board, a new Presidential advisory committee providing recommendations on the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS).

Since its inception, NASA has pursued a broad range of international cooperative endeavors with foreign countries. The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 established international cooperation as a fundamental objective of the Agency. To achieve this objective, NASA operates within broad U.S. Government policies, including economic, scientific and foreign policies, and has established Agency guidelines for international cooperation. Potential benefits of international space cooperation include access to unique capabilities or expertise, increased mission flight opportunities, access to program-critical locations outside of the United States, cost-sharing, and building or reinforcing positive international relations among nations. To date, NASA has concluded thousands of agreements with over 100 nations and international organizations. In January 2004, President Bush announced the new Vision for Space Exploration, and NASA was directed to pursue opportunities for international participation in support of the U.S. Government's new goals for human exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond. As NASA implements the Vision, the Agency is promoting new international space cooperation with its foreign space partners in areas of mutual interest, through a variety of bilateral and multilateral mechanisms. At the same time, NASA will continue to develop and implement international cooperative missions, projects and activities in its longstanding Agency program areas of space science, earth science, aeronautics and space operations.

Ashbindu Singh has a strong multidisciplinary background with postgraduate degrees in physical and natural sciences and a Ph.D. in environmental science. He has 30 years of work experience: 13 years working with the Indian Forest Service (1977-1990) in various capacities at local, provincial and national levels and over 17 years with UNEP in different parts of the world.

He is intimately involved in analyzing environmental sustainability issues around the globe. He has over 100 publications including 35 UNEP reports, in peer reviewed scientific journals and conferences, on various environmental issues. Findings of his research work are extensively referred by the scientific community and those involved in the environmental policy formulations. One of his papers titled "Digital change detection techniques using remotely sensed data" has made a lasting impact the field of remote sensing (citation 439 in Google scholar). The team under his direction has produced highly influential reports on various environmental issues including global forests, threats to freshwater, coastal vulnerability, linkage between environment and health, environmental conflicts , transboundary air pollutants , biodiversity and UNEP's best seller ever publication "One Planet many people: Atlas of our changing environment" His current interest focuses on how to bridge the gap between science and policy and applications and communication of earth observations technologies for environmental assessment and monitoring.

The topic of Singh's presentation is Remote Sensing in Decision Making - an International Perspective' in which he will speak about his involvement with analyzing environmental sustainability around the world. His talk will focus on how to bridge the gap between science and policy and applications and communication of Earth observations technologies for environmental assessment and warning.

This presentation illustrates the outstanding achievements of the USSR, and later Russia, in the study and exploration of space during the past century, including the flight of the first artificial Earth satellite and orbital station MIR. It outlines man's eternal dreams of fathoming the mysteries of the Universe and the process whereby leading Soviet scientists developed and brought to fulfillment the theoretical and practical principles of cosmonautics. Most of the presentation describes and illustrates the various stages of preparation and training for cosmonauts and the carrying out of manned space flights of different durations, starting from the first in history, accomplished by Yuri Gagarin and finishing by International Programs at ISS.

At the same time that the U.S. and the Soviet Union started their space programs, several countries in South America were also willing to enter the space race to a lesser degree. In the 1960s, Argentina started launching its own sounding rockets. In the 1970s, Brazil did the same. Today, despite the economic setbacks common to the region, several countries in South America have their space projects with advanced high altitude rockets, several satellites in orbit and strong research and development programs. Cooperation between the countries of the region and international partners is also very important and reaffirms the peaceful purposes of the space research in South America.
A sample case of the non-governmental educational satellite Pehuensat-1 will be presented.

Professor Rao is an internationally renowned space scientist, presently the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory popularly known as PRL, which is considered as the cradle of India's Space Program. Prof. Rao is also the chancellor of Ambetkar University and serves on the board of governors of Reserve Bank of India. He also chairs the National Center for Antarctic Research and the Institute for Tropical Meteorology.