AsMA AFG members are warmly encouraged to submit to [email protected] any news, special events, accomplishments, research news, article publications, etc. that you would like to be displayed on this page.

“To the Moon and beyond” – a podcast series from The Conversation

(August 2019) Dr Rowena Christiansen’s earlier article on Space Tourism for The Conversation led her to be invited to participate in a five-part podcast series entitled “To the Moon and beyond” – a podcast from The Conversation exploring the last 50 years of space exploration and the 50 years to come.

Marking 50 years since the first Moon landing, “To the Moon and beyond” is a five-part podcast series from The Conversation. Through interviews with academic experts around the world – from space scientists to historians, lawyers, futurists and a former astronaut – science journalist Miriam Frankel and space scientist Martin Archer explore the past 50 years of space exploration and what the 50 years ahead have in store.

This makes for fascinating listening and is free to subscribe to or download.

“Take it from me: I’m not signing up to become a space tourist just yet…”

(April 2018) Our first contribution is from Dr Rowena Christiansen in Melbourne, Australia, who is a member of the AsMA AFG and the Space Life Sciences Committee of the Australasian Society of Aerospace Medicine. She was recently commissioned by the online forum The Conversation to write an article on Space Tourism, and this was submitted for publication just before news broke about the luxury space hotel proposal. The article has engendered a lot of lively discussion and three follow-up radio interviews!

The space medicine community in Australia is small but very engaged and enthusiastic, and there will be a poster presentation about the work of the group at the AsMA Annual Scientific Meeting this May. There is much excitement that an announcement is imminent regarding the establishment of the first-ever Australian Space Agency.