Astronaut congress to land in Salt Lake City
Their first flight on the way to Utah was by way of space shuttle. Instead of running a costly campaign, members of this exclusive congress had to reach great heights – literally.
The Association of Space Explorers (ASE), composed only of astronauts and cosmonauts who have orbited the earth in outer space, will hold its annual planetary congress in Salt Lake City. More than 300 space explorers will converge in October for the meeting.
Utahns can credit former astronaut and Sen. Jake Garn for bringing the Space Congress to Utah, said Andy Turnage, executive director for ASE.
He pushed for the conference, and when a bid possibility came up, it was given to Utah, in a similar process to how the 2002 Olympic Games were given to Utah, Turnage said.
“It will be a great experience for the association, and the people of Utah – especially the students,” Garn said in a press release.
“We hope to be able to every day [of the conference] to have some sort of community program to reach students,” Turnage said.
Reaching out to students is a major part of each congress, and the congress will send astronauts and cosmonauts to talk to each of Utah’s 40 school districts.
“There will probably be an astronaut or cosmonaut coming to USU,” said Trina Paskett, Space Dynamics Lab’s public relations manager.
Currently, USU is helping to plan the congress by attending the preliminary meetings in Salt Lake City, Paskett said. A day is being planned for the congress to tour the Space Dynamics Laboratory.
SDL will show the congress facilities and projects going to the space station, Paskett said. USU’s John Vanderford, coordinator for the Rocky Mountain NASA Space Grant Consortium has been working on the program that will be delivered to the school districts.
“It’s important to get students excited about science, technology, engineering and math. [The astronauts] will talk to students about their experiences and ignite some interest in students,” Vanderford said in a press release.
ASE holds five goals and objectives as an organization. They are to serve as a professional forum, promote space science and exploration, educate, promote environmental awareness, and encourage international cooperation.
Each Congress has a theme that furthers these objectives, such as “The Home Planet,” France, 1985, or “To Mars Together,” Washington, D.C., 1992.
This year, the executive committee is trying something different for theme selection.
“We’re going to ask the students to propose ideas for the theme,” Turnage said. The committee will review the proposals when they meet in Salt Lake City in April and decide on a theme then.
Utah was actually selected as the location for the congress for 2004, but Russia asked Utah to wait a year so that they could host it for honorary purposes, Turnage said.
Russia cancelled the congress due to economic reasons, so Utah’s congress will be the first in two years.
The ASE has held the annual planetary conferences worldwide locations such as Saudi Arabia, Austria, and Mexico.
For a location to become eligible, it must be the native-born county of a “space flight participant, and in which that
person holds citizenship.
At each of the conferences, the school visits have been a favorite of both students and astronauts.
Some areas are easier than others. In Costa Rica, the astronauts and cosmonauts were transported by helicopter, Turnage said.
“A high concentration of students is certainly beneficial because it makes our job easier,” Turnage said.
Besides the school district visits and a trip to the Space Dynamics Lab, most of the congress will be held in Salt Lake City. “They’ll be technical and public events at various different locations,” Turnage said, including schools, the Clark planetarium and Delta Center.
There are 29 country members of the ASE. Membership of countries to the Association of Space Explorers is granted when a country hosts a Planetary Congress and the when the planetary congress supports the decision with two-thirds of the delegates’ votes of acceptance.
-natandrews@cc.usu.edu