Kerry Astronomy Club Talk With Leo Enright

Thursday 17th April
Manor Hotel Tralee
Time 8pm
Cost FREE
Open to the Public

Talk is about future exploration of mars and parallels with exploration of earths Antartic region with particular reference to Kerry's Tom Crean.

Everyone is invited so if you are in or near Kerry, why not pop in and join us.

Any one out there thinking of going?

Thanks for the heads up, If I have time I'll pop down.

details on talk

"Tom Crean's contribution to the exploration of Mars"

What did Tom Crean know about the planet Mars one might ask ? Very little most likely! The reason for the title is as follows. A few years ago George.W.Bush announced the future goal of NASA. It is to land an Astronaut on the planet Mars by around 2030. This will prove to be a very difficult task as Mars can be about 160 times further away than the Moon. Since the task of actually getting astronauts to Mars will be so difficult and dangerous, it will need to be worth their while. In other words, they can’t just walk around for a few hours after landing and then leave (like Neil Armstrong). They will need to spend several says on Mars and trek about 100 miles.

The approach that NASA will have to take will be very similar to the Antarctic explorers. The trip to Mars will most likely use the Moon as a stepping stone. Before the Astronauts even arrive, NASA will have to have deposited the necessary supply depots along the predetermined rout on the surface of Mars. The Astronauts will land at the start of the route. There will be already supplies, shelter and a vehicle for traveling at that location. They will then drive on the next depot (perhaps 10 miles away) and then the next and so on. Eventually they arrive at the end of the route where there will be a supply depot and a return vehicle waiting for them.

Leo's point is that Tom Crean and his fellow Antarctic explorers inspired NASA to take this approach. Those who have read about his adventures will understand the NASA approach very well.

Hi Folks

We had a talk tonight by Leo Enright and it went down a treat. It was well attended probably somewhere between 120-150 people. We also had one of Tom Crean's Grandsons present and renowned explorer Pat Falvey who completed a trek to the south pole only a few months ago and spoke for a few minutes which was a nice touch. Leo started by showing some of the high Def Jaxa images of the moon, before his main talk which focused on the exploration of the south pole on earth and the martian poles. In particular he focused on the Phoenix Lander. This was then followed by a question and answer session which was a real treat. His breadth and depth of knowledge was astounding. Anyway below are some pics.

Leo at the start of his talk.


...and with some adoring fans.


The crowds of happy punters


Polar explorer Pat Falvey


Master of Ceremonies Michael Scully


Kevin Lawlor and Leo at presentation of floating space shuttle thingy

It was a great evening and it was great to see it well attended. Thanks to all who helped promote it.

You can hear Leo tomorrow morning on Radio Kerry at sometime between 10.15 am and 10.45 am if you want to know more. Listen live at
www.radiokerry.ie

Hi Trevor,

Well done looks like everyone had a ball. You are doing some great work down there in Kerry keep it up.