What’s New in the Moon Society?

Frontlines
Volume 2009, Issue April
Published April 14, 2009


Management Council Actions & Discussions
including new look for website 2ndary pages
Moon Society Elections 2009
Town Meeting Discussions
including an Apollo Moon Party event
Project Teams
Moon Miners' Manifesto, other Publications
Chapters & Outposts                        
Events
Publicity
Meetings Calendar
Pre-Frontlines
Reports

2008.02.15
2006.01.30
All Reports
Frontlines past issues:
2008 2009
2008 - January
2008 - February
2008 -March
2008 - April
2008 - May
2008 - June
2008 - July
2008 - July
2008 - August
2008 - September
2008 - October
2008 - November
2008 - December
2009 - January
2009 - February
2009 - March

About Frontlines

This is our eleventh issue. Frontlines is a formatted monthly Moon Society news report that comes out each month just after the first (of two) Management Council meetings each month, and/or after the publication of the month's issue of Moon Miners Manifesto. These reports are being archived, so members and visitors can check past reports.

Frontlines reports on Society activities, efforts, and projects. You pay your dues, and have a right to know what we are doing to make your membership worthwhile, and to address your interests in a place for humans on the Moon.

We have been making steady progress on a wide variety of fronts. We want you to hold us accountable for continuing to do so!

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Current Management Council Actions & Discussions


Website secondary page conversion to new template almost finished, as of April 14, 2009.

This is a collaborative project, mostly between Chairman of the Board, Scotty Gammenthaler and James Rogers, but with input from all Society Leaders.

The new look includes a new across the top of page banner and left hand sidebar designed by James A. Rogers, and new pull down menus (incorporating all the menu options available on the home page) with the software work done by Scotty Gammenthaler.

The page also includes a subdued version of the moonwalk bootprint background in a coordinated colore. The Management Council overwhelmingly approved the new look, and we hope that you will too.!

Thanks Scotty and James for your brilliant work over the past two months.

The process of transferring all the dependent pages (other than the homepge) by Scotty Gammenthaller.



Other Interactive Moon Society Internet Sites

In addition to the Moon Society Forum, we have several other interactive sites:


There are now homepage links to all but the last of these in the left hand menu column, image links section. So if you have not visited any of these sites, we are making it easier for you. On some of them, you may need to log in or register.


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Moon Society Elections 2009

Step 1: Call for Nominations for Society Officers and Directors
Our annual election ritual begins again. This year, these positions are open: respond by May 1st

Moon Society Officers:

Vice-President: for a two year term, ending in 2011: currently held by Charles F. Radley
Secretary: for a one year term, ending in 2010: This position is currently vacant, and you may volunteer at any time to serve the rest of the current term, as well as to nominate yourself for the new term.

Moon Society Directors:

Three Director (Board member) slots: for two year terms, ending in 2011: currently held by Scotty Gammenthaler, James Gholston, and David Dunlop.
Notes: All of the above, except David Dunlop, are expected to run for re-election. We are expecting new persons to nominate themselves. Thus, for the first time in a while, we will have contended seats and/or offices.

Remaining Office and Director posts will be up for election next year – 1010
.
Eligibility for Office or Board positions
• Any current member, who has bee a member of the Moon Society for one full years as of August 1, 2009, is eligible for nomination and election. That includes all members with membership #s 1518 or below.
• For officer positions, it is important that only those apply who believe that they can regularly attend our Management Council meetings held on the ASI-MOO (our advanced chat room environment) the first and third Wednesday evenings each month, 9-11 pm Eastern, 8-10 Central, 7-9 Mountain, and 6-8 Pacific Time (2-3 am Thursday morning UT).
• We understand that now and then, something may come up that makes attendance impossible. But unless you are sure that such occasions will not be frequent, please do not nominate yourself or accept a nomination. To keep the Society on the move, it is vital that we meet on this frequent schedule to tend to business and opportunities as promptly as possible.
• For Board positions, the above also holds but if  a Board member misses a quarterly “Board” meeting without a prior excuse, that will be grounds for removal under the revised bylaws adopted last year.

To nominate yourself, write elections@moonsociety.org

  • Please respond by May 1st, 2009
  • Candidate Statements: Include a brief statement about yourself and what you will bring to the position (250 words, max)

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Curent Town Meeting Discussions

In our third regularly scheduled
Town Meeting more progress was made on setting up our world wide Apollo Moon Party

Our third Town Hall Meeting was held May 13th on Skype group chat. 

Discussion was dominated by the idea to stage a world wide "Apollo Moon Party" on the 40th Aniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and first moonwalk, in the time frame July 16-24, 2009.

There will be local Apollo Moon Parties, probably on Sat. July 18th and/or Sun. July 19th and
An International Party, possibly an Internet Telethon with hosting to skip from time zone to time zone around the world possibly on the 20th.

We are now busy inviting other organizations to cosponsor, and have had a positive response from NSS Chapters co-ordinator Candace Pankanin.

Log of the February 11th meeting
Log of the March 11th meeting
Log of the April 8th meeting

We have a new Meetings Schedule page, that members can check for the latest information, including information on how to participate. Go to our Downloads Center, scroll to the bottom of the page, and download and print a meetings calendar - 12 months all on one page, with your choice of artwork (5 selections)

Why Wednesday and why that time slot? Well, that's what the Society leaders are used to. They will not be "expected" to attend, but of course are most welcome to do so. In these meetings, we want to hear from members (current and former), from visitors, from friends, etc.


NOTE: Our next Town Meeting is on May 13th and will be held on Skype group chat.
Time: Wednesday 9-11 pm EDT, 8-10 pm CDT, 7-9 pm MDT, 6-8 pm PDT
Time: Thursday 2-4 am GMT (UK, Ireland), 7:30-9:30 am NDT (india), 1-3 pm AEST (Eastern Australia)

If you do not have Skype, please go to www.skype.com and download this free software. Do not download Skype 4.0 as on that version, group chat is not allowed. When you register for it, you will be prompted to select a "Skype name" this can be your name in the format "firstlast" all lower case, or you can pick a nickname.

Then
go to the top menu and click on Conatacts, "Add a Contact" and search for Shaun Moss
and select Shaun Moss Melbourne Australia, and add to your new contacts list. Then, when you want to join the meeting, just click on his name in your contact list and you should immediately find yourself in the Town Meeting group chat.

Further instructions for joining the Meeting via Skype will be forthcoming.


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Project Teams

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Moon Miners Manifesto & Other Moon Society Publications

MMM #224 was published April 14th - www.moonsociety.org/members/mmm/

Members can download MMM pdf files here (username password required) If you have no username and password, or have forgotten it, please contact us as soon as possible and we'll get you up and running

MMM-India Quarterly. The 2nd issue was published February 19th. This publication is a free access pdf file available to our members and friends everywhere, not just in India.

Moon Society Fiction - 2nd Issue of "Moonbeams" was published Jan 25, 2009, under Editor Chuck Lesher. The 3rd issue is now in compilation.

If you have a "high frontier" tale in you, work it out and email it to moonbeams@moonsociety.org

To download the first issue, go to the archive site. Moonbeams issues are freely available in pdf file format, and members and visitors are welcome to circulate them freely and widely. The purpose is to provide fictional illustrations of what life could like on the Lunar Frontier and elsewhere within the Solar System.


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Chapters & Outposts Report
- see the updated map of Moon Society Chapters and Outposts

.Welcome to the Victorian Space Alliance, Melbourne, Victoria State, Australia, leb by Shaun Moss

In India, the SEDS chapter at the Vellore Institute of Technology outside Chennai (Madras) has expressed interest in serving as a Moon Society Chapter.

It is possible by year's end the Society may have more chapters in India than in the US - we are becoming more truly International, and that is a good thing!

Society Chapters come in two versions: Community-based
(St. Louis, Phoenix, Houston, Tucson) and Campus based (College of Menominee Nation - Green Bay Campus)

An Outpost consists of one or more members in a local community that serve as (a) local contact(s) for area members and prospective members of the Society, and which have not yet met the qualifications to be given a chapter charter. To establish an outpost and become a local contact person for the society, write the Chapters Coordinator. There is no reason why a prospective campus chapter cannot start as an outpost, one or more not-yet-organized members.

Outpost Formation Plug - take a look at our Chapters & Outposts map [http://www.moonsociety.org/chapters/chapter_outpost_map.html]

If you live in an unrepresented area, why not take the plunge?

We are ready to give you plenty of help and direction, including names and addresses of current and former members in your area (xx miles form your zip code)

There is plenty of material and how-to information on the Space Chapters Hub website that we share with the chapters of The National Space Society and The Mars Society..

Write: chapters-coordinator@moonsociety.org
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Events: Annual Events, ISDC, other conferences, other events and observances

International Space Development Conference: ISDC 2009 will be held May 28-31 in Orlando, Florida.

Our David Dunlop is chairing the Moon Track.
Dr. Peter Schubert is chairing the Space and Environment Track
Our Moon Colony Video Team (Chip Proser & Dave Dunlop) hope to be tele-interviewing again

Moon Society President Peter Kokh will be awarded the National Space Society's Gerard O'Neill Space Settlement Award for his 23 years of work in Moon Miners' Manifesto, sketching how future pioneers could make themselves at home on the Moon, Mars, in space settlements, and elsewhere in the Solar System. The award had previously been given to Harrison Jack Schmitt (Apollo 17) in 2007, and to President Bush's science advisor John Mahrburger in 2008. The award will most likely be given at the Friday evening banquet at ISDC

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Publicity Report

MMM Library subscriptions project courtesy of the Lunar Reclamation Society, publishers of MMM. We have received 6 so far. If you would like to have MMM go to your local library, send ch/mo for $10 (one year) to the publishers,

“Lunar Reclamation Society”
PO Box 2102
Milwaukee, WI 53201
(include the name and address of the library)

Looking for volunteers to put out fliers at various space conferences and science fiction conventions they may be attending. Let us know about space conferences and science fiction cons that you are planning to attend. Write president@moonsociety.org

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Moon Society Fiction - Second Issue of "Moonbeams" is published, under Editor Chuck Lesher.

The second issue is ready for download. To download the 1st or 2nd issue, go to the archive site. Moonbeams issues are freely available in pdf file format, and members and visitors are welcome to circulate them freely and widely. The purpose is to provide fictional illustrations of what life could like on the Lunar Frontier and elsewhere within the Solar System.

If you have a "high frontier" tale in you, work it out and email it to moonbeams@moonsociety.org

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Leadership/Management Council Meetings

We meet on the ASI-MOO on the 1st & 3rd Wednesday nights monthly, 9-11 pm ET, 8-10 pm CT, 7-9 pm MT, 6-8 pm Moon Leaders room. Directions from the Commons: "north", then "moon-leaders"

Anyone may choose to audit our meetings and to contribute input to discussions. Use your Moon Society username and password, or sign in as a guest. Note: let us know in advance so we can tell the Door Dragon to let you in!
NEXT: April 15, May 6 and 20



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