NSS – Phoenix Chapter Meeting – Saturday 24 October

The next meeting of the Phoenix Chapter of the National Space Society will be this coming Saturday at 11:00 AM at the Noble Library (quadrant 5E on the map, on McCalister Mall, about two blocks west of the light rail station near Tyler St).

It will be held in conjunction with the Earth and Space Exploration Day at ASU (10:00 AM – 4:00 PM).

The agenda will cover:

1. Welcome

2. More arrangements for Holiday Party. It will be either December 5th or 12th. It will be held at Dave Fischer’s house. We need the physical directions and map to Dave’s house. The time will be from 5pm-?. Veronica Ann is collecting names and what people are bringing. Please email her at: Veronica.Zabala@NSS.org with your RSVP and what you are bringing. There will be a 50/50 raffle at this party! All tickets are as follows:

$1.00 each ticket

$5.00 for 6 tickets

Everyone is encouraged to participate in this raffle. 50% of the proceeds go to the NSS Phoenix Chapter !!!

3. We are currently accepting applications for the following NSS Phoenix Chapter Positions:

Educational Outreach Officer
Media/PR Officer
Recruitment Officer
IT Officer

Please email Veronica Ann if you are interested.

4. We are currently seeking Speakers at our January 2010 Chapter Meeting. Sian Proctor had indicated that she would be interested in giving a talk based on her experiences getting into the Astronaut Corps. Is she still interested and what dates is she available?

5. All Chapter Members are encouraged to seek donations and sponsors for the chapter. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Veronica Ann. We need to start earning revenue for our Chapter to promote education outreach as well as to alleviate costs for upcoming field trips. It is the Chapter President’s hope to also create a scholarship for those interested in going to ISDC 2010.

6. Who is going to ISDC 2010. Thus far, the Chapter President is going and would like to know who else is going?

7. Yuri’s Night 2010: Veronica Ann would like to hold an organizational meeting sometime in January 2010 for the NSS Phoenix Chapter to hold a Yuri’s Night 2010 in the Phoenix Region. We would like to invite the following NSS Affiliates to participate:

The Mars Society
The Planetary Society
The National Space Society
SEDS
AIAA
The Moon Society

We need to find a place we can hold the event. Either at a local science center or at a college/university. Does anyone have any ideas?

8. Donate Sci-Fi books! Veronica Ann is collecting all Sci-Fi books to loan schools to promote reading (especially in Science Fiction). If you have any Sci-Fi books that you no longer need, please contact Veronica Ann.

9. All NSS Phoenix Chapter members need to send the Chapter President their updated contact information by the end of October 2009. Please included the following in your email:

Name
Mailing Address
Phone Number
Email Address
Please send this information to: Veronica.Zabala@asu.edu

10. Chapter website update:

How many people have visited our site
From where are people visiting our site from

Any new developments, new features to the site?

11. Chapter dues? Should we begin to incorporate Chapter dues to our Chapter again to help raise funding? if so, does $5.00 every six months sound like a plan? we can collect these Chapter dues January 1st and July 1st of every year.

12. The NSS Chapter needs to get more involved in schools. Veronica Ann would like to know who would be interested in giving lectures about human and robotic space exploration? No experience necessary. Veronica Ann will train! Please contact her for more information and the dates that you may be available to give lectures to school children.

13. Veronica Ann is working to redo the Chapter Bylaws. If you would like to help out and proof the Bylaws, please let Veronica Ann know.

14. Next Chapter Meeting will be held on January 30, 2009, from 11AM – 1PM. Location TBD.

15. Q & A session

16. Reminder that the ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration is holding their Earth & Space Exploration day in front of the Physical Sciences F-wing (across from the library) from 9-3pm. All members are encouraged to participate in this venue after the meeting.

17. Meeting adjourned!

The World At Night

Christown Spectrum Mall is hosting the internationally renowned photography exhibit, The World at Night, from 3-18 October 2009. The World at Night is part of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). On Saturday, 3 October, from 11 AM to 3 PM the Challenger Space Center will conduct liquid nitrogen demonstrations and dry ice comet simulations. The ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration will conduct a meteorite dig, work with Hubble Space Telescope floor puzzle images and more. The Phoenix chapter of the National Space Society will host its next member meeting at the event and participate in the exhibits. Some delightful images from The World at Night: For those of us living north of the equator, the site of the Magellanic clouds is not something we are privileged to see. Comet McNaught above Perth, Australia in 2007 Yosemite in winter. Other aspects of the IYA include the Galileoscope project and the Dark Skies Awareness project. If you are interested in astronomical viewing, the Clear Dark Sky website will be a valued tool.

Image from IYA 2009 used by permission

Examiner.com – Earn some dough, have fun.

I have a great way for you all to make some extra cash for you as Chapter members. Please feel free to pass this on to all of your contacts.

For those who have a flare for writing, there is a great opportunity to write articles for Examiner.com. I just got hired on and I am currently using this as a way to write about science and to promote education in Phoenix, Arizona. My title is the Phoenix Science News Examiner. For you all, you can write about anything: The best places in your region to go hiking or stargazing, where to find the best deals on telescopes, your science clubs events, special lectures, etc. And the best thing is that you get paid each time your articles are viewed.

To view some articles for Phoenix, Arizona just visit: www.examiner.com
Select the region of interest …
Then enjoy reading articles that pertain to your special interests.

If you would like to become a writer for Examiner.com, please view this video: www.examiner.com

Then fill out the short application form (only took me about ten minutes).

Also, please remember to click on the “Find your Examiner” button at the end of the page and type in my name “Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto” as the one who referred you (Thank you in advance for doing so). Once you are done, wait until you receive your confirmation in an email.

For a quick example you can visit my first article as an example: Reaching-for-the-Moon-Mars-and-beyond

For some of us who write abstracts, papers and press releases this is a walk in the park but if you have any questions or need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to help you out.

Good luck!

Best,

Veronica Ann
Chapter President
The National Space Society
Phoenix Chapter

Celebrate Apollo 11.

This Saturday, July 18th, Mike Mackowski and Chuck Lesher are giving back to back presentations twice that day and Don (President Moon Society Phoenix) will have a table setup at the Arizona Science Center. Mike is giving a presentation on the Apollo Program and the history of lunar exploration. Chuck will be giving a presentation on the current plans for returning to the moon with an emphasis on NASA’s Constellation Program. The first time will be at 12 noon at the Science Center downtown and the next will be at 3pm at the Challenger Center in Peoria.

After a full day of space advocating and Apollo 11 celebrating, you are all invited to come on over to Chuck’s house and socialize. Even if you cannot help out during the day, please come and join us. Bring your spouse and kids and cousin Ed if he is in town. The more the merrier! Chuck will have BBQ and sodas. BYOB or whatever. You can bring chips or salads or other munches if you want but it is not required. Let’s just get together and have some fun while we calibrate the first steps of man off planet Earth!

Chuck’s House
1982 N Iowa St
Chandler, AZ 85225
Southwest Quadrant of Arizona Ave and Warner Rd

Please feel free to call Don or me. Here are our cell phone numbers

602-616-3162 Chuck
480-330-6119 Don

Non-Profit Chapters Meeting

Non-Profit Chapters Meeting
13 June 2009
Challenger Space Center

The meeting began an effort to collaborate on outreach to the public in support of Space Exploration.

Chapters Represented:

National Space Society (NSS)
The Moon Society
The Mars Society
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
The Planetary Society

Other organizations that should be included:

United Federation of Planets (UFP)
Space Exploration Alliance

Representatives included:

Veronica Ann Zabala – NSS chapter president
Greg Rucker – NSS chapter secretary
Craig Porter – The Moon Society past president
Mark Longenback – AIAA past chair
Patrick Lonchar – NSS treasurer
Don Jock – The Moon Society president
Rich Christianson – AIAA public policy
Dave Fischer – NSS weblog contributor
Scott Hansen – NSS friend
Patty – The Moon Society VP promotions

Other local resource persons:
David Hewitt – NSS – PAC – Phone Tree
Hough Downs – NSS activist
Lori Garver – former NSS Board of Directors
George Whiteside – NSS – Obama Advisor

Upcoming Events:

20 July – ASU – Space Exploration Day
TBD – Sally Ride – ASU
TBD – ASU – Earth & Space Exploration

General Discussion:

Development of Action Items
Possible sponsorship of ISDC 2012
Second Life activities
LROC at ASU
ASU Spaceflight Photography Lab

June 2008 Chapter Meeting

The next meeting of the Phoenix Chapter of the NSS will be held at the Macaroni Grill in Litchfield Park, June 28 (Saturday) at noon. (Romano’s Macaroni Grill – www.macaronigrill.com – 1828 N Litchfield Rd, Goodyear – (623) 547-0299)

We will be discussing the following:

ISDC 2008
Summer BBQ (at an NSS Member’s House)
NSS Policy (who to contact within Arizona)
Chapter Officer Elections to be held in August
NSS Committees to join
The Arizona Challenger Center
Upcoming field trips to the ASU Space Photography Laboratory, LROC and Mars Facilities (FREE)
Upcoming Sci-Fi and Space Related Events
SpaceFest 2009
Our NSS Affiliates and the discounts they offer (ie: The Moon Society)
Creating a Chapter Video
NSS Phoenix Chapter website update
NSS Phoenix Chapter finance
Prospective NSS Sponsors

April 2008 Chapter Meeting

At 11:00 AM on April 26, 2008, we will have a telecon that will replace our Monthly Chapter Meeting. Consult your emial for conference call number and password.

Welcome
Chapter Memberships
Chapter Merchandise
Chapter Events
ISDC 2008
Ad Astra Subscriptions
Updating Chapter Members’ Contact Information (Do you know when your membership ends???)
The NSS Phone Tree
Knowing YOUR Chapter Officers !
NSS Phoenix Chapter and Second Life
NSS Chapter Online Calendar
The Peoria Challenger Center
The Moon Society of Phoenix
The next Chapter Meeting?
Chapter Trip to Flagstaff in the summer! Camping?
Q & A time