This must be the perfect moment to mention this...

the Mars Society is having it's 6th Annual Convention this year in Oregon at the Eugene Hilton Hotel in downtown Eugene during August on the 14th thru 17th.

You can finded out what we do while in those canvas suits and see and hear the papers given and then judge the worth of what we do yourself.

There will be a tour a day before the convention to Bend Oregon area to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument and Lava Tubes there! Even if you don't plan to attend the convention this might be interesting for all you interested in Lave Tubes as habitats on Mars or the Moon.

Also the Eugene Astronomical Society will be holding several Star Parties during the convention with some nice scopes to view various celestial object including Mars as it approaches the closest opposition in over 50,000 years!

Some of the noticeable who will be attending are Elon Musk of Space X, Michael Laine of Liftport, Inc. and Jim Burk of Marsnews.com.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is June 30th and I believe that is also the deadline for the cheaper convention registration rates.

For more information check out ww.MarsSociety.org

To reserve a room at the Eugene Hilton Hotel click here or call:1-800-774-1500 (the convention code is MAR)

--Chris Vancil