Location:
Ansir Innovation Center (map)

Back for a third year in San Diego, SpaceUp is a space unconference, where participants decide the topics, schedule, and structure of the event. Everyone who attends SpaceUp is encouraged to give a talk, moderate a panel, or start a discussion. Sessions are proposed and scheduled on the day they’re given, which means the usual “hallway conversations” turn into full-fledged topics.

SpaceUp San Diego 2010 was the first SpaceUp ever, and it was awesome again in 2011. It’s coming back to San Diego on February 4-5, 2012. The Ansir Innovation Center will be a great venue, but it only holds a limited number. Register today to make sure you have a spot.

You will be amazed at what comes out of SpaceUp. Based on past SpaceUps, we expect to see businesses started, problems solved, projects kicked off, plans hatched, and amazing friendships born.

Learn more about SpaceUp San Diego at the website, or follow them on Twitter or Facebook to get updates on SpaceUp plans and details.

5:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Location:
The Crowne Plaza Hotel – LAX (map)
5985 Century Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA

The AIAA LA section presents an evening dinner with Peter C. Theisinger. Peter is the Manager of the Mars Science Laboratory Project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

His prior positions have included Director for the Engineering and Science Directorate, Deputy Director of the Mars Exploration Directorate, Manager of the Mars Exploration Rover Project, Deputy Manager of the Mars Sample Return Project, Deputy Manager of the Systems Division, Mission Support and Development Manager of the Mars Surveyor Operations Project, Project Engineer for the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft development project, and Manager of the Spacecraft Systems Engineering section.

Theisinger has been involved in the systems design and development of interplanetary spacecraft systems since he originally joined JPL in 1967 as an engineer in the Payload Integration Section. He has worked on a variety of missions, including the 1967 Mariner mission to Venus, the 1971 Mariner orbiter mission to Mars, the 1977 Voyager mission to the outer planets of the solar system, and the 1989 Galileo mission to Jupiter.

Theisinger has been awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for his work on the Mars Global Surveyor mission, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for his management of the Mars Exploration Rover Project.

Please register here.

Email events@sdspace.org if you’d like to join SD Space members planning to attend.

7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Location:
Space Travelers Emporium (map)
1947 30th St. San Diego, CA 92102

There are many different types of book clubs, but they all have the same goal: To read, discuss, and learn from a book. Our book club has a theme: space. And our first book will be: The Traveler’s Guide to the Solar System

By Giles Sparrow – Collins (2007) – Paperback – 224 pages – ISBN 0061198293

So you want to go into space? Then The Traveler’s Guide to the Solar System is for you, the independent space tourist. It will take you into the most exotic reaches of the solar system, and also help you to discover everything you ever wanted to know about the more traditional and familiar destinations. Is no gravity fun? What’s it like on a spacecraft? Can I breathe on Venus? Will I need to take water? To find out, all you’ll need is a class V launch vehicle, a space suit, and your toothbrush. . . . With so many tourist attractions, you won’t know where to fly first. Book a week on the Moon and dine in lunar orbit. Have your photo taken with Neil Armstrong’s footprint before putting on your heavily shielded space suit and flying off for a walk in the heat on Venus. Discover giant volcanoes, breathtaking mountains, and frozen lava rivers. Explore the remains of Soviet space probes. Play golf in one-sixth gravity. Go ice-skating on Jupiter’s moons. The possibilities are endless!

Join us for our first group discussion of the book. Stop by the Emporium any time to pick up a discounted copy.

Please email bookclub@sandiegospace.org if you’d like to sign up.