From: September 13, 2012 - September 16, 2012 (Recurring daily)
Location: Hyatt Regency Houston
Venue: Hyatt Regency Houston
Address: 1200 Louisiana, Houston, TX 77002
Times: Starts at 8 a.m. on the 13th and concludes at Noon on the 16th
Child Admission: Expo: $5; Children 6 and under are free; All children must be accompanied by an adult
Adult Admission: Symposium registration is $250; Expo Admission: $10
In 2012 the federal agency DARPA gave its stamp of approval to, and seed funded, 100 Year Starship®, a private organization to achieve perhaps the most daring initiative ever in space exploration: human travel beyond our solar system to another star within the next 100 years.
The initiative, led by former NASA astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, kicks off with the 100YSS 2012 Public Symposium. This dynamic four-day event will bring together thought leaders, experts, trendsetters, space advocates and space enthusiasts, international space agencies, established businesses and start-ups, financiers and entrepreneurs, universities and many other groups, including the general public. All are all invited to join in this journey to explore the challenge, benefits, potentially enabling technologies, strategies and awesome potential of interstellar flight to another solar system.
Featured guests already on the roster for 100YSS include Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek's Lt. Uhura), Dr. Jill Tarter (retired Director of Center for SETI Research), Dr. Johnetta Cole (Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American Art), LeVar Burton (actor, producer and host of Reading Rainbow), Dr. David Alexander (Director, Rice Space Institute).
In addition to multiple sessions on various topics surrounding the initiative, there will also be a public Expo that will bring space exploration to Downtown Houston. Expo features will include planetarium shows and short classes for the public on the solar system, astronomy, theories of "faster than light" travel and even philosophy and ethics of space exploration. The Edge, a unique exhibit brings to life the vision of 100 Year Starship. Other various exhibitor booths and displays will also be on site.
Two other special events will also be held as part of the symposium: a video presentation and dinner on Friday evening Golden Anniversary Salutes: JFK "Moon Speech" and Johnson Space Center as well as a dinner gala on Saturday evening, Accelerating Creativity: A Celebration.
