Why should you care?
Well, you are deep inside space activist occupied territory on the web. You may be aware of the important role the Moon can play in future space activities. Your support of the Lunar Prospector Team can help provide information to determine the pathway decisions on the future course of commercial space development. Your commitment to a free society in space and the goal of human communities beyond Earth may best be expressed in your contribution to the Lunar Prospector Team.
Why the Moon?
The Moon is a nearby supply of resources which could be vital to the development of a space-based civilization, as well as to the success of a number of commercial space ventures. Theories and data from the Clementine mission suggest that water ice may be present on the Moon, trapped in permanently shadowed craters near the poles.
Don't we have all the answers already, from Apollo, Clementine and the NASA Lunar Prospector missions?
No. The Apollo orbiters covered only a small percentage of the lunar surface in their various surveys with various instruments. The Apollo landers sampled only six small areas of the surface. Clementine did an excellent cartographic survey, and carried out some other resource mapping activities. The NASA Lunar Prospector mission will add to that knowledge, but will certainly not complete the vast array of chemical, radar, multi-spectral, and other studies that need to be conducted. The principal scientist of the NASA Lunar Prospector project, Dr. Allan Binder, has previously called for multiple small missions to conduct lunar surveillance activities.
Who's on the Team?
Lunar Prospector Team is a dba of the Houston Space Society, which means it is a registered business alias of our non-profit corporation. Corporate sponsors of the program include Space Travel Services, Advanced Microbots, Interglobal Paratronics, and Houston Online Entertainment Group.
What's happened so far?
Quite a lot really. Starting in 1988, the Houston Space Society, Inc., began organizing an effort to establish a Lunar Prospector Team. The initial effort centered around our Lunar Polar Probe conference. We decided to host a conference because there had been a great deal of interest in a lunar polar probe mission expressed at the 1988 International Space Development Conference in Denver, and again at the World Science Fiction Conference in New Orleans.
Shortly after the WorldCon, a particularly horrific experience for most program participants, and quite fun for those of us who filled in ad hoc during assorted scheduling blunders, Houston Space Society agreed to organize the Lunar Polar Probe conference. Space activists from around the country, and some from overseas attended the event.
We held our conference March 11 and 12, 1989 in order to attract some cross-participation from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, an annual event produced by the Lunar and Planetary Institute near the NASA Johnson Space Center. To facilitate this cross-participation, we chose the Nassau Bay Hilton across from the Johnson Space Center as our conference hotel.
In attendance at the conference were representatives from the Houston Space Society, the Space Studies Institute, ExtraTerrestrial Materials Inc., International Space University, the Lunar Society, Milwaukee Lunar Reclamation Society, National Space Society, the New Orleans Space Society, Space Frontier Foundation, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, and Washington State Citizens for Space. Each of these representatives, as well as numerous individuals acting on their own, signed the Citizens Initiative calling for the establishment of the Lunar Prospector Team and the rapid completion of its mission.
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To raise money for the project, the Houston Space Society commissioned a painting by Doug McLeod, featured at left. This painting was used on the conference poster. Prints of the painting, signed and numbered by the artist, are available from the Houston Space Society. A few copies of the conference poster were also signed by the artist, and remain available. The original artwork was auctioned off at the conference. The remaining prints of this painting are available for $89 each. Contact us by email for details.
The painting depicts a lunar orbiting spacecraft with an alpha particle spectrometer in the foreground. The beautiful moonscape in the background is consistent with photos taken from lunar orbit by Apollo astronauts.
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Following the conference, Houston Space Society was invited to attend a Space Studies Institute conference on their Lunar Prospector mission. A large number of very exciting ideas for spacecraft design and scientific payloads were discussed at this event. Some of the best of these ideas came from Dennis Wingo, then a student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Although Wingo's design proposals were later turned down by the Space Studies Institute, he was successful in funding a small satellite project at his school.
In the first part of Summer 1989, Houston Space Society purchased a surface barrier detector to advance the work of Lunar Explorations, Inc., a Houston company founded by Dr. Allan Binder. Houston Space Society donated the surface barrier detector on behalf of the Lunar Prospector Team to Dr. Binder and his associates. The detector was used in the development of the alpha particle spectrometer experiment package.
After making a series of donations to the Space Studies Institute, the Houston Space Society determined a need for ongoing funding for the project. Fortunately, through the good offices of Tim McGlashen, an ongoing funding program was available. Tim organized a group of Houston bands around the theme of his song, "The New Frontier."
The bands sing together on the title track produced by Tim, on an audiocassette available from the Houston Space Society. The cassette, "The New Frontier," sells for $9. It was first made available in July 1989 at the New Frontier Benefit Concert. The tape, which includes songs from nine Houston bands, features a variety of rock, rockabilly, and punk styles. Words to the title track are included in the tape. The Houston Space Society paid for the reproduction of the audiocassettes at favorable rates arranged by Tim. Thank you Tim McGlashen!
The Houston Space Society also sponsored the production of a New Frontier Music Video. The music video features the song by Tim, sung by members of all the participating bands, and accompanied by video and images collected and produced by Clifford Carley. The video is also available from the Houston Space Society for $19.
A series of benefit concerts were produced by the Houston Space Society, with varying degrees of success. Together with the conference proceeds, the Team logo merchandise, other merchandise sales, and the proceeds from two fundraising events, the Houston Space Society raised over $11,000 for the Lunar Prospector Team.
A considerable amount of this money was spent renting and furnishing an office for the use of Lunar Explorations, Inc., in order to support the hard-charging efforts of Dr. Binder. We were delighted to help this single-minded individual in his quest for a lunar orbiting probe. It was very gratifying to learn that Dr. Binder had succeeded in obtaining NASA funding for his experiment package to be flown on the upcoming Lunar Prospector mission.
We hope to continue to advance the understanding of the lunar environment, for scientific and commercial purposes. In the near future, the Houston Space Society will announce plans for a series of lunar missions, carrying on the tradition of the Lunar Prospector Team and advancing the goals of the Citizens Initiative.
If you'd like to participate in this project, please feel free to contact us.
