One day in the journey
Last weekend Lunar Mission One hosted it's first backer's meeting at the Royal Institution in London. Founder David Iron gives us his thoughts on the day...
Mission Control: Building the world’s biggest space club
30th May 2015
This weekend marked the inaugural Lunar Mission One backer’s event. From as far afield as Saudi Arabia, Texas, Oslo, Turkey, Spain and Germany over 300 Lunar Mission supporters participated in an extraordinary day at the iconic Royal Institution in London.
When organising this event we not only wanted to give backers a deeper insight into the work of the project teams, we wanted to engage in a conversation and collaborate with the people that will make this mission a reality – our wonderful community of supporters. Through three workshop sessions we were able to hear your thoughts, your ideas and your vision for this project. In addition to meeting some of our backers and chairing some great workshops, we were honoured to hear inspiring talks from leading experts in science, engineering and marketing.
The enthusiasm and creativity of our backers was evident from the moment the doors opened and the atmosphere was fantastic throughout the day. Before the event kicked off, backers were able to meet each other, some for the first time, and share their thoughts on the mission before coming together for the first series of talks.
Angela Lamont expertly introduced the outline of the day before I had the privilege of addressing the audience and sharing with you my vision for this project. We were then treated to talks from leading lunar scientists Professor Ian Crawford and Professor Alan Smith, and a special video address from astronaut Dan Tani who has not only received Master of Science degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology but has completed five spacewalks on the International Space Station.
The Lunar Labs sessions proved just what our community were capable of, with the energy and creativity of the backers surpassing our already high expectations. There were some excellent ideas covering all aspects of the mission from what the archives should be comprised of, how we might be able to drill into the surface of the Moon, to how we can internationalise the project. Chaired skilfully by members of the Lunar Mission One team, the ideas generated have given us a lot to think about. Each session produced some fascinating ideas but these were just the beginning; we want to take these ideas and develop them. That’s why we need you to continue these conversations online through our forum and through the Lunar Missions Labs.
Our second series of talks included an announcement from Oded Ben-Horin and Allan Fraser-Rush that Lunar Mission One will be partnering with CREAT-IT and the World Space Week Association. Other talks that concluded our day came from Dr Lewis Pinault, who discussed the “power of collective intelligence”, and Mark Hempsell who helped present the idea of the 4th Sign to a captivated audience.
When we opened the floor to questions, the discussion was conducted with an enthusiasm that I am sure will continue as we discuss these concepts online.
For me, being able to meet members of this community in person was a great pleasure. Their stories and passion for this project was overwhelming and a powerful reminder of how inspiring this mission is for so many. I have never had so much confidence in our ability to make lunar history and to change the way we fund and manage future space missions. The conversations I had with individuals, as well as the vision of 300 of our community from age 11 to 70 sat in the Royal Institution, made a tremendous impression on me and I hope on you as well.
Over the coming weeks we will be releasing more information via our website, online forums and on our twitter and Facebook pages. Be sure to keep an eye out for updates, news, videos and pictures from the Lunar Mission One community and team.
Thank you to everyone who attended, to everyone who tweeted and shared their ideas, and to all those who were listening in person or online.
What a powerful way to kick off the next phase of our venture.