WATER from SPACE: Societal, Educational and Cultural Aspects

International Astronautical Congress
27th September – 1st October 2010, Prague

A joint session (E1.6.-E5.4) between the IAF Space Education and Outreach Committee and the IAA Commission VI and co-sponsored by ITACCUS on the topic "Water and Space: Societal, Educational and Cultural aspects" will be hold during the International Astronautical Congress that will take place in Prague in 2010

Inter-disciplinary in nature, it will explore the societal and cultural contexts of water as they are related to space.

Nearly 71% of the Earth constitutes water. Recently water has been found on other celestial bodies (Moon, Mars). Yet, the world faces serious issues related to water: not only its general availability and management, but also in the context of global warming as well as in the pollution of rivers, lakes and oceans.

Space systems are employed in monitoring such aspects as ocean currents and salinity, the decline of the Arctic ice coverage, and the location and size of shoals of fish. Water management often relies on the use of space systems for scientific study as well as for remote operation of pump stations.

Water and its resources management affects societies that depend on it for a living as well as for survival, not to mention the destruction of other life forms.

Access to water is often a matter of serious political and economic implications.

Water associated disasters such as floods and tsunamis are coming to rely heavily on space systems for time critical response and management. Climate change modelling requires a good understanding of hydrological science and this too is helped by the data provided by space systems.

In this inter-disciplinary session we wish to explore the societal and cultural contexts of water as they are tied to space. Possible topics include: political and economic issues; how the crises affecting our oceans impact on society; how the discoveries of water on the Moon and Mars is opening up not only new knowledge but also may impact both the human condition on earth and human space exploration; the way the arts, popular culture and entertainment engage with cultural issues around water, remote sensing coordination and public access; water management; educational programmes relating to water from space and water in space.

Chairs
Annick Bureaud
Leonardo/Olats – FRANCE

Bijal Thakore
Space Generation Advisory Council – UNITED KINGDOM

Lyn Wigbels
American Astronautical Society (AAS) – UNITED STATES

Rapporteur
Adrian Meyer
NYDT – SOUTH AFRICA

Usefull web sites

Pdf of the Call for Papers IAC Prague 2010
http://www.iafastro.com/iac2010/IAC2010_CallForPapers.pdf

IAC Prague 2010: International Astronautical Congress, Prague, 2010
http://www.iac2010.cz

IAA: International Academy of Astronautics
http://iaaweb.org/

ITACCUS: IAF Committee for the Cultural Utilization of Space
http://www.iafastro.org/?id=883

Deadlines

5 March 2010 Deadline for submitting abstracts
22-25 March 2010 IPC Spring Meeting in Paris
26 April 2010 Official notification to authors
26 April 2010 Opening of the manuscript uploading system
8 September 2010 Deadline for uploading manuscripts
10 September 2010 Deadline for uploading of presentations