Moon Society Conference 2000

Conference Program

A detailed Conference Program is available. It was assembled by Peter Kokh (KokhMMM@aol.com) who is editor of the Moon Miner's Manifesto and a member of the Milwaukee Artemis Society.

Conference News

Many details were decided at the conference. A brief summary is below. We will be posting more details here and elsewhere over the next few days.

• Gregory Bennett, founder of the Artemis Project, former NASA engineer, and Vice President of Bigelow Aerospace, was elected President of the Moon Society. The full officer slate and the 5 member Board of Directors (all of whom are elected in the Moon Society) will be posted shortly. A Board of Advisors was also created and the Society's official bylaws were approved (we will post those on the website as soon as we have the corrected text available. If you would like to help, email bylaws@moonsociety.org)
• Project Leto, a program to build a simulated lunar base for research, education, and entertainment, was approved as the Moon Society's first major project (but not the only one). As it matures, Project Leto will encompass activities at many sites, including locations in Hesperia, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Hawaii. Other candidate locations being considered include Arizona, Florida, and New Mexico.
• All members and all chapters of the Artemis Society International are now officially members and chapters of the Moon Society. New chapters are being formed as well. You can become a founding member of the Moon Society until December 31 by registering here. A few details are still being worked out but we will soon post information on how to form a chapter and what resources are or will be available to you.
• The Moon Society's statements of purpose, specifically the Mission Statement and Vision Statement, are being written by a special commitee. If you would like to help out, email Peter Kokh at kokhmmm@aol.com
• According to the official Bylaws, the Moon Society has been chartered to be a 501(c)(3) non-profit scientific and educational charitable foundation (donations to the Moon Society are tax deductable). The Moon Society will promote all aspects of the study, exploration, settlement, and development of the Earth's moon, Luna. In addition, the Moon Society will promote space education in schools and colleges, design and develop (initally assist in the design and development of) commercial space missions, and coordinate efforts across its chapters and the many other space organizations. The Moon Society is being formed with the assistance of the National Space Society, Space Frontier Foundation, Space Studies Institute, Foundation for the International Non-Governmental Development of Space, the Mars Society, the Planetary Society, Artemis Society International (which will continute to operate under its original charter as a business organization focused on the Artemis Project).

Everything below this line is from the pre-conference literature.

Dates

The Lunar Development Conference will be held Thursday and Friday, July 20-21, 2000 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The Lunar Development Conference will be a formal papers conference focused on development of lunar industries.

The Moon Society conference will be held at Caesars Palace on Saturday and Sunday, July 22-23, immediately following the Lunar Development Conference. Participants in Lunar Development Conference are welcome and enthusiastically encouraged to attend the weekend Moon Society conference at no additional charge. The Moon Society conference will focus on planning the Moon Society's activities and organization.

Here's a flyer about the Moon Society Conference in Adobe Acrobat format. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to read this file. You are welcome and encouraged to print out the flyer and distribute anywhere and everywhere.

The Lunar Development Conference is sponsored by Space Frontier Foundation and the Moon Society (Artemis Society International), and co-sponsored by Space Studies Institute and the National Space Society.

Space Studies Institute has published the Call for Papers. To receive a copy of the Call, please send your name and address to Bettie Greber at the Space Studies Institute, ssi@ssi.org.

Conference Registration

Advance registration is available until June 15, 2000. General registration is $385; authors $350. Lunar Development Conference registration includes registration in the weekend Moon Society conference.

Registration for just the weekend Moon Society conference is $90.

On-line registration is available on the Space Frontier Foundation web.

Call the Space Studies Institute to receive a registration package: 609-921-0377 or a toll-free message can be left on 800-337-5279, or by email to ssi@ssi.org.

Organization Memberships

Registrants of the Lunar Development Conference may join several of the sponsoring organizations with no additional cost for the first year's dues. See the conference registration forms for details.

On the Web

The main information portal for these conferences, with links to everything, is http://www.moonsociety.org/conference/. (That's where you are right now.)

The Call for Papers for the Lunar Development Conference is on the Space Studies Institute web.

Hotel Rooms

Preliminary room rates for the conference, single or double, are $119 for Caesars Palace standard rooms, and $149 for the Palace Tower. Suites are available in prices ranging from $250 to $650. Maximum occupancy is three adults in one room. There is an additional $20 charge for a third person. The current hotel tax rate in Las Vegas is 9%. Reservations must be made directly with the hotel before June 19, 2000, and of course you need to mention the Lunar Development Conference to get the discounted rate.

Caesars Palace is located in the heart of The Strip at 3570 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, NV 89109. Phone 702-731-7110.

Transportation

Fly into Las Vegas McCarron airport. The hotel does not run a courtesy van. Taxi from the airport to Caesars will cost $10 to $12. There's lots of free parking at Caesars, but since most of the Las Vegas attractions are right together and Caesars all by itself provides several days worth of adventure, you'd probably end up renting a car just to leave it in the parking lot during your stay.

The hotel is within walking distance of just about everything on The Strip, and everything else in Las Vegas is a short taxi ride.

Weather

Outdoors: Las Vegas is in high desert country in the Rocky Mountains. Expect very dry weather, peaking over a hundred degrees in the mid-afternoon and dropping into the upper 60's or lower 70's at night.

Indoors: You might find that you want a light sweater or sports coat to be comfortable in the public spaces of the hotel and casino.