**Date: Mon, 7 Jul 1997 22:15:53 -0700
From: The Don
Subject: Planetfest 97/The Mars Invasion **
THOUGHT OF THE DAY:
Last Fourth of July, the aliens invaded us. This Fourth of July, we fought back and invaded Mars. A human invention on Mars: isn't that some thing??
Greetings again from Palo Alto. I'm finally back from the big trip we took to Pasedena. We got back to the area around six when we went to Doug's (director) for a pizza dinner. We didn't get back here until 11 last night. Needless to say I was tired today.
We left here at 5:40 AM PDT. We stopped for breakfast at Anderson's Pea Soup Restaurant. Got to Pasedena around 12:30 or 1 where we checked into a very nice, $85.00 per person a night Holiday Inn. This place was within walking distance of the conference center. Actually, it was right next door - less than a block a way from Planetfest.
After lunch, we met up with the Dryden Academy at JPL (Jet Propulsion Labratory), which was only a few miles away. We got on base where we went and got a presentation on the Galileo, which is finishing up its mission around Jupiter. I met a guy from Kalispell who's in the Dryden Academy. Goes to school in Indiana.
That dinner, we just chilled out near the motel.
The next day, we showed up to Planetfest to help Sun set up their workstations. There was one big problem, Sun was very disorganized as was the whole festival that day. They didn't really have much for us to do until about 2:30. We went to the mall and had lunch. Pasedena Center was just across the street from the convention center, which was right next door to the motel. After lunch, a few of us, including me, decided to go ice skating at the skating rink which was where? Right next door to the convention center. This was my first time ice skating. I'm told I did very well. It only took me three trips around to get away from the wall. Isn't it ironic that a Montana boy comes down to Claifornia during the middle of the summer to learn to ice skete?
That night, we went to the Planetfest's symposium. Dan Golden, NASA Administrator/BIG MAN, spoke at this. We were in the third row. I also met the girl from MSU that is attending Goddard academy there. Turns out we met a few years ago at the HSA/MSU honors program get together in Bozeman at the Griz/Cat game. Remember the myster of what Cory is, Linda, Joan, Christian?? She e-mailed us this fall about Griz-Cat. Yes, Cory is a she. The mystery has been answered.
Any way, Golden was a good speaker. He had a lot of great stuff to say. Doug hates him though. I'll have to tel you that story some time. We also heard from a bunch of other impressive speakers. After the symnposium was over, the three academies gathered at the convention center steps (in doors) to listen to the two guys that discovered the Mars Meteorite (the one that every one's talking about). We saw Ev ??? the next day and got our picture taken with him. We also met Gerry Sophen, who is a celeberty in his own right. He came up with the idea for the academy and is the head for Goddard. He is also a famous researcher for NASA and was on CNN not too long ago.
Then comes the Planetfest. Our job was to monitor 11 Sun stations and make sure people knew how to e-mail and netscape. We each took an hour shift at that. That was not tough work because most of the people were kids. Most of the kids knew even more than I do about computers. Piece of cake.
With such an easy job, we got to explore Planetfest. They had tons of free stuff. They had tons of exhibits. They also had a part of the Mars meteorite on display.
We were in the big auditorium when Sojourner's first signals were received. We saw them first. JPL actually did, but we saw them a few seconds later on NASA TV. Lots of applause when that happened. I didn't get to be there when it actually landed, but I immediately heard about it.
Then that night, we went to the Rose Bowl for a professional soccer game. After the game, fireworks. That was the biggest, brightest fireworks display I've ever seen.. The Grand Finally almost blinded me; it was so bright.
Then Saturday, I went to some presentations. I went and heard Golden speak again as well as a few guys involved in the Pathfinder mission. This is live, in person, by the way. Golden announced that the Mars stations would be named after Karl Sagan at Planetfest first. We were the first to hear the news.
Then I heard the head of technology for Star Trek speak. Then we and the other three academies went out to Malibu to eat at Dukes, an expensive sea food place on the bay. On the way home, we drove on Sunset Blvd and past Bel Aire, Beverly Hills, UCLA, and Hollywood Blvd (the one with all the stars on the side walk).
Before heading out to Dukes, the academies once again gathered at the stairs to hear a speaker, Bob Zubrin. This was one smart guy. He advocated sending humans to Mars. Said we could be on Mars by 2008.
This was a neat trip back for me. The last time I was in LA, I was there for the '91 Hollywood Xmas parade in high school. It was a lot nicer touring in two vans rather than four buses.
Then comes Sunday, the end of PLanetfest. I talked to a few people from Ames Integrated Networks Center yesteray that I had been working with the previous fw days. They gave me a few more contacts at Ames that I could use with my PI work.
Then I went to Astonaut Story Musgrave's presntation. He had a bunch of neat slides that he took from space. Nice ride home.
I think that about covers the weekend. I left out a TON, but I don't have time or room to go into it all. That was a fairly good sampling, though.
I'm sure by now you are all probably wondering, what is Planetfest? Ya know, I really couldn't answer that. It is put on by the Planetary society every once in a while, most of the time during big NASA events such as the pathfinder landing. It has tons of exhibits with top notch scientists. One reason it was put on this year was for Pathfinder, but it was not jsut for that. I think it's goal is to increase human awareness in science. Hope that answers it.
Pasedena was hot and smoggy. Nice to get back here.
I'll e-mail you today's activities later. Hello to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Griz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!