By David Bullock
May is an interesting month. From the first of May to the fifth of May, every day was a holiday except for the second of May. Two of the holidays were space holidays and they were back to back. National Space Day is on the last Friday in the first week of May (It was on May 3rd this year) and May the Fourth is an unofficial space holiday for space culture enthusiasts as the name of the holiday sounds like a line in a Star Wars movie. Even the White House celebrated May the Fourth on X.com. With so many people having space celebrations in May, it is not surprising that many events in this month are sharing the space experience on Earth.
Space Nation is holding a three-day on-site simulated space mission in Midland, Texas, which is run by an international crew including U.S. astronaut Gregory H Johnson. The attendees of “The Moon Pioneers Mission” stay in a habitat and explore nearby caves and deserts with Johnson and the rest of the crew, who are experts in living and working in extreme environments. The outing is from the 17th to the 19th of May and includes everything except for airfare. The habitat is next to Midland Air and Spaceport, so the best airplane to take you there would be one going to Midland, Texas. For more on the experience go to: https://www.spacenation.org/
Sian “Leo” Proctor, Ph.D. has been exploring hard since her trip to space on Inspiration4. She’s been all over the world talking about her trip in orbit on a SpaceX Dragon, her artwork, and space and space exploration in and of itself. Her Analog Astronaut Conference, which is being held this weekend (May 9-12) is sold out. Attendees of the conference will be staying in Biosphere2, just outside of Tucson, Arizona. The theme of this year’s conference is “Analog Research for the Benefit of Life on Earth and Beyond.” This is the third year Proctor and her crew mates are running this conference. More on the Analog Astronaut Conference at: https://www.analog-astronaut.com/
May 22 is the Space Tourism Conference in Los Angeles at the Sheraton Gateway, LAX. The focus of the conference is “Celebrating the Space Lifestyle” and looks to bring synergies between entertainment and the space industry. Besides a great list of panelists at the conference, the National Space Society is offering discounts to its annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC) for Space Tourism Conference ticket holders. ISDC is held from May 23-26 just after the Space Tourism Conference at the same venue near LAX. You can find out more at: https://www.spacetourismconf.com/
A lot is happening in May. As you travel on this spaceship of a planet May the Fourth Be with You!