THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE – The Monthly

The September issue of The Monthly has arrived from the printers, with my piece on the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity and the landing party at Canberra Deep Space Network Tracking Station (Tidbinbilla).

It should now be available in print and online

Martin Ollman’s terrific photo of us space tweeps in the rain by the ‘big dish’ at Canberra DSN is on the inside front cover. This is his photo of his photo.

Mars Rover Launch only a few days away

Just over a week until I attend the first ever CSIRO Tweetup as part of NASA’s launch of the Mars Curiosity Rover. This is going to be so fascinating.

From the CSIRO website: “The CSIRO Tweetup will provide @CSIROnews and @CanberraDSN followers with the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes at CDSCC and speak with scientists and researchers. This CSIRO Tweetup will run for 24-hours and will include a “meet and greet” session to allow participants to mingle with fellow Tweeps and the people behind CSIRO’s and CDSCC’s Twitter feeds. Participants will get a special tour of CDSCC, hear from guest speakers, watch the launch and tracking activities, enjoy a telescope night-sky viewing (clouds permitting), and a tour of CSIRO Discovery Centre, plus more.”

Access to this site is normally restricted so this is a wonderful opportunity. I will definitely be writing something about this experience and will let you know where to find the piece when I do, so please check back!