MEETING PLACE: The Lunar Reclamation Society holds regular meetings, open to the public, at
Mayfair Mall on the city's west side,
in the Community Room, G110),
located on the lower level "Garden Suites East". Note: Mayfair now requires us to keep the door closed, but it is unlocked, and you can see through the sidelight that we are inside. Come on in!
This location [map] is handy to the North Avenue and Mayfair Road exits of the Highway 45 Freeway (northern continuation of the I-894 bypass), southbound and northbound respectively.
At Mayfair, from the central court, walk north (towards Macy's Department Store, formerly Marshall Fields) and take the first gallery to the right. Half way down on the left will be the sign "Garden Suites East" and a glass door leading to a stairway (with an elevator option.) G110 is just around the corner on the lower level.
RELAXED INFORMAL GATHERINGS are the rule. We usually have cozy roundtable first name sessions at which some of us give space news reports, updates on various chapter projects, or projects of other groups we are following. We usually have a presentation on a special topic, and often, a short video. Our meeting place is very nice, kitchen facilities available, and refreshments are often provided by various members on their own initiative.
MSMO: The membership of the Moon Society Milwaukee Outpost is too small to meat separately and the LRS meeting serves for both hats.
MEETING SCHEDULE FOR 2008: 1-4 pm, the 2nd Saturday of the month except in July and August, during which months we may have a field trip and chapter picnic.
2008
| Jan 12th - Feb 9th - Mar 8th | Jul NO - Aug NO - Sep 13th |
| Apr 12th - May 10th - Jun 14th | Oct 11th - Nov 18th - Dec 13th |
- Saturday, January 12th, 2007, 1-4 p.m.
- Bob Bialecki brought a Discovery Channel Video DVD
"Moon for Sale." Very interesting, though it gave time to Dennis Hope's Lunar Embassy lunar land sales program, an illegitimate scheme (the Moon isn't his to sell) which has netted him millions of dollars from gullible people. We had a discussion about how property rights could be established on the Moon, as they have on empty land on Earth, by "homesteading" and/or "working the land" or developing land areas by providing power, water, and other utility access. - Charlotte informed us about the 2008 NCRAL (North-Central Region of the Astronomical League) Amateur Astronomy Conference, April 18-19, 2008 at the Lakeview Conf. Center in Port Washington. Sheboygan Space Society member, Harald Schenk, who teaches astronomy at UW-Sheboygan, will be a speaker. The keynote speaker will be famed PBS Stargazer, Jack Foley Horkheimer, Executive Director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium. "Foley" as prefered to be called in his high school days, was one year behind MMM Editor Peter Kokh at Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, WI iway back in 1952-55 (years in common). Peter last saw him in the late 1960s, forty years ago, and hopes to go to this event.
The February 9th meeting is CANCELLED due to weather issues
- Saturday, March 8th, 2008, 1-4 p.m.
AGENDA:
- Report on our Exhibt and presentations at MarsCon in Minneapolis, March 1st.
- UpdateReport on the UnderSea Lab being built in the Aquarium area of Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin on the Lake Michigan waterfront - Peter will have current photos
- Updates on space and space mission news, conferences etc.
- The calendar ahead including ISDC 2008 in Washington DC at end of May
- Bob Bialecki will bring another Discovery Channel Video DVD
"Base Camp Moon"
On Our Events Calendar
No scheduled local events at this time. Peter Kokh is invited to MarsCon in the Twin Cities February 29th-March 2nd as a Science GoH
January 7, 2008 - Space Shuttle Atlantis is expected to launch on a mission to install the European Space Agency's Columbus module. Aboard wil be Stan Love, a contributer to MMM #s 106, 107, and 108.
December 9, 2006 - Our 20th Anniversary Gala Celebration:
- It all started on Saturday, August 23rd, 1986, when about 15 Milwaukee and Wisconsin members of the L5 Society attended a meeting called by the Chicago and Minnesota chapters for the purpose of getting us to organize. The setting was at the Red Carpet Hotel at Layton and Howell (now the 4 Points Sheraton) across from Mitchell International Airport, during the ongoing Triangulum 2 science fiction convention of Science Fact, Fiction, & Fantasy. This guaranteed a greater attendance, drawing several people from the "con" who had not been L5 members.
- At our December 9th, 2006 meeting we had a buffet luncheon followed by presentations on the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) by Ben Huset, and By Peter Kokh on the Moon Society/LRS/NSS joint moonbase exercise at MDRS last February 26th - March11th, led by Peter Kokh as crew commander. Peter gave a follow on presentation about ideas for a dedicated Moon Analog Research Station.
- Close to 30 people attended including at least seven of us on hand at that first August 23, 1986 meeting. We cut an anniversary cake, and several awards were given out.
- Take home freebies included a CD with the MMM pdf files, LRS papers in pdf format, and much more.
- Photos on our Gallery Page
February 26-March 12, 2006 - Peter Kokh commands Crew #45 at the Mars Desert Research Station - the first Moon Society moonbase simulation.
October 10th, 2005 - We are informed that the dates have been set for the first Moon Society Mission to the Mars Desert Station: February 26 - March 12, 2006, with Peter Kokh as Mission Commander. The Lunar Reclamation Society will be a principal co-sponsor.
Follow our exploits on the Artemis Moonbase Sim 1 website
February 6-20, 2005 - Peter Kokh is part of Crew #34 at Mars Desert Reseach Station
January 2, 2005 - Peter Kokh is featured guest on the Space Show, answering questions from listeners and from email about the Moon and its role in our future. The show aired live on the web and on an AM Seattle radio station, 12-1:30 PM Pacific Time (2-3:30 s Central.) You can listen to the show by going on the URL above and selecting the January 2, 2005 show from the archives.
October 6, 2004 - Launching Phase I of a project to Rent the Mars Desert Research Station in Hanksville, Utah to run Moonbase Operations Simulation Exercise - in Phase I, a team will put together options for a valid simulations program that can be run at the Utah facility, and which has enough merit to attract sponsors. Rent: $7,000 per 2-week crew rotation, plus transportation expenses, and equipment expenses. Peter Kokh is leading this effort
August 1, 2004 - LRS President Peter Kokh is elected President of the Moon Society, for a two year term
6/04/2004 - MMM now has its own domain name, which forwards to www.lunar-reclamation.org/mmm/ We hope that this simple device makes it easier for people who have heard about MMM to find more information. The new domain was registered on June 4, 2004. You can type the name in all lower case if you like. Caps in the illustration above are simply for legibility, and totally optional. We have also created a directory of free sample issues in PDF format (Adobe Portable Document File) and are working on trial subscription offers, probably at regular prices but with a Priority Mail Packet of back issues. The offer will be aimed at visitors to the MMM home page, to the Moon Society website, and to members of the National Space Society who choose to receive MMM as a PDF file in combination with a special introductory rate membership in the Moon Society. These details are currently under discussion with the Moon Society.
3/11/2004 - MMM is Moon-bound! The only article of the maiden issue of MMM (#1, December 1986), "M" is for "Mole" has been uploaded in pdf form to this website and to the TransOrbital ARCHIVE. If TrailBlazer 1 does fly, and eventually impacts the Moon, this archive is expected to survive.
3/04/2004 - Two new position papers have been drafted in response to the Bush Administration's Moon to Mars Initiative and jointly adopted by the Lunar Reclamation Society (Milwaukee, WI) and the Moon Society (Plano, TX):
March 4, 2003 - Lunar Eclipse Section added to the "Explore From Home" Page
Fall 2002 News
Spring | Summer 2002 News
Our July 20th Field Trip to Chicago was somewhat disappointing Six of us made the trip, including a member of the Wisconsin Mars Society who carpooled with us. It was great meeting some of the Chicago area Mars Society people and seeing again several Chicago area NSS members. The exhibits at Adler were great as usual. But the Mars Analog Research Station exhibit deserves mixed reviews. The shell of the M.A.R.S. EuroHab destined for a site in NE Iceland contained good exhibits about Mars, and some about Mars Society programs and visions. But it was not outfitted as a M.A.R.S., that is, as a place from which simulation exercises and operations would be run. And that, not exhibits on Mars, was what we thought we were going to see. What is the sense of exciting people about this very special Mars Society Project - simulating Mars operations in select locations on Earth so that we can learn valuable lessons and go to Mars itself better prepared - if we aren't going to show people how our field operatives are going to live and work inside these structures. A tremendous opportunity has been lost to save a little time, effort, and money. - PK
Peter Kokh gave a talk on Space Tourism on Saturday afternoon, May 18th, at the annual Rockets for Schools event in Sheboygan. The talk was poorly attended because the event organizers were too busy to promote the presentation sessions.
Our website was down most of April: because of a communications snafu, our domain name registration was not renewed promptly. We are glad to be online again!
We manned table at Mitchell Field: On Thursday evening / Friday morning, April 25h-26th, Peter manned a table at the annual Aviation Career Day event, with the theme "Fly the Skies of Mars." Our table was officially sponsored by the Wisconsin Mars Society chapter. There was very good response, about half of it to the idea of Mars in general, half to the idea of flying on Mars specifically. We will probably repeat this event next year, hopefully with some key improvements to our display and presentation.
Peter Kokh gave a talk on the Moon to Milwaukee Astronomical Society: On Friday evening, January 18th, 2002 Peter addressed MAS at its monthly meeting at the UWM Physics Building on E. Kenwood & N. Cramer. Peter spoke about the Lunar Reclamation Society's vision and projects, about his own life long interest in the Moon, and about the possibility of automated optical and radio astronomical observatories on the Moon, and their possible evolution into occasionally tended, then permanently staffed facilities. He then spoke about the potential interest of free enterprise in the Moon, for tourism, and energy, describing the various scenarios. This would mean substantial numbers of people living on the Moon and he described various settlement architecture suggestions and why he thought the modular approach made the most sense. Relying as much as possible on indigenous resources, pioneers could learn to be at home on the Moon, even indulging in amateur astronomy. His talk was well received.
Fall 2001 News
15 people made our 15th Anniversary Holiday Party one of the best ever: Four members of the Wisconsin Mars Society (plus two of our members in common) swelled our ranks at our Holiday meeting on December 8th. One of them had run into Mary Dixon (widow of Bob Bramscher who died in August 2001) and as a result she and son Carl came too! We had brought along our portable Earthrise Moon Mural to use as a photo op background - LRS VP and Media Chair Bob Bialecki had arranged for a photographer from Milwaukee Lifestyles magazine to be present. The pot-luck fare was great and we all enjoyed the film "The Dish."
Journal-Sentinel Article on local Mars Group: On October 17th, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporter Jamal Abdul-Amin interviewed Peter Kokh at his home on Mars, the approaching arrival on location of Mars Odyssey, and Mars topics in general. He followed up by coming to the Wisconsin Mars Society chapter's meeting on Saturday, October 20th, bringing along a photographer. We were all pleased with his thorough, accurate, and balanced report in the Journal-Sentinel's Metro Section for Monday, October 22nd, 2001.
"Live, on the BBC, London" -- On Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd, Jamilla Knowles of the BBC in London called LRS VP Bob Bialecki, who gave her Peter Kokh's phone number. Pete was just walking in the door when the phone rang. Ms. Knowles interviewed him on "Moon Mining" and the Artemis Society's Commercial Moonbase project, "live on BBC, London" for several minutes.
6/30/01 Possible Midwest Radio Telescope Array - using satellite dishes for which Time Warner Cable has no further use. Dishes at four area antenna farms are being made available free of charge (we even get a check for disassembling them and carting them away). At large member Dave Dunlop is working on this project, with some help from Peter Kokh. A consortium of colleges in Michigan and Wisconsin would own and operate the array. Four 23 ft. dishes, and two 16 footers, with their piers etc. from the 2nd and Walnut (Pleasant) Street site have been disassembled so far and were trucked to Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, June 30th. Pete drew on past blue collar experience to supervise palletizing the many pieces and banding them for shipment.
The Grand Rapids area is the probable location of this first harvest of first array elements. Hopefully, the second array (of 16 and 18 foot dishes) will be located in Wisconsin. One site NE of Green Bay has been suggested, but a real site search has not yet begun, and we are still building our college and university network. Interest has been expressed by a prominent faculty member at Marquette University. In the past, Carroll College in suburban Waukesha has had a radio astronomy program, but the indications are that this is not a current activity there. Eventual ties to the Wisconsin and Michigan Space Grant Consortia are likely.
It has been a lot of work so far, with much more to come (reoutfitting, site emplacement, control setup, network building, etc.) before this dream can become real. At this stage, a press release or publicity would be premature, and possibly counterproductive to completion of the plan. So please be discrete in discussing this development.
The idea is to build a facility for student and amateur access. Networked as an interferometer, the dishes should have respectable resolving power. Among "interesting targets" are the asteroids. S.E.T.I. searches would be "piggybacked" on all other observing programs on a "target of opportunity" basis.
Radio Astronomy Consortium has been incorporated as a Michigan nonprofit to own and manage the system, with board members in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. A website is in the works. RAC will be associated with SARA, the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers. We will post website and email information as soon as these are approved for release.
Update: 02/10/02 - Unfortunately, the partners in Grand Rapids have not been able to carry through on this effort for some reason, and it appears to be in limbo.
In Memoriam - Robert G. Bramscher
Born July 4th, 1955 in Fargo, North Dakota
Died August 17th, 2000 in Kenosha, Wisconsin
OBITUARY (Milwaukee Journal, August 19th):
Bramscher, Robert G. 55, passed away on Thursday, August 17th, 2000. Well known defense attorney in Kenosha. Graduate of UWM [Univrsity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee] and of the University of Wisconsin (Madison) with Juris Doctor of Law degree. Member of the Wisconsin Bar Association , and among others, Milwaukee Lunar Reclamation Society. Surviving Wife Mary Dixon, 3 Sons [including LRS member Carl], and 2 Brothers. Services were Monday, August 21st, 2001 at 7 pm with visitation from 4 pm at Hansen-Lendaman Funeral Home - 6019 - 7th Avenue [across Library Square from Bob's office] in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Bob Bramscher and the Lunar Reclamation Society
Bob joined the just launched "MLRS" in early 1987. He had previously joined the L5 Society and was an early active member in the Chicago Society for Space Studies (CSSS) under Greg Maryniak (later, executive Director of Space Studies Institute for many years).
Bob hosted meetings in his Kenosha law offices in a failed attempt to start a Kenosha branch chapter of MLRS.
He took part in several car pools to annual ISDCs and made it possible for the editor of Moon Miners' Manifesto to take in the 1st conference of the newly formed Artemis Society in Huntsville, AL in 1995 by volunteering to attend, and take him along.
Bob was very active in the IAF International Astronautical Federation, traveling with his wife Mary Dixon to annual conferences all over the world. His Passion for space and in particular for the history of Rocketry and Astronautics, led to the compiling of a very vast collection of books on the subject including many rare and out of print editions.
Bob made many gifts of books to the LRS/ MMM Library, and bought us a high speed modem. It was Bob who found us a connection, through his law partner, Mike Kehoe, to Carthage College in Kenosha which loaned all the audiovisual equipment we needed for ISDC '98 at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, therefore guaranteeing the financial success of that endeavor, both for LRS and NSS.
Bob also frequently provided a classic science fiction film for LRS annual pre-Christmas party. In his honor, we'll be showing Homer Hickam's "October Sky" at this year's holiday party meeting on December 9th at 2pm.
We are hoping some of Bob's cremains make it to the Moon! We will miss him terribly.
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Annual Chapter Activity Reports filed with the National Space Society
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