ASX 2012 Focused on "Space 2.0: What's Next?"

One of the highlights of our generally dark and gloomy Canadian January is the annual "Expanding Canada's Frontiers" symposium organized by the Astronomy & Space Exploration Society (ASX).

Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto.

This years symposium is scheduled for Friday, January 20th, 2012 from 7:00-10:00 PM at the University of Toronto Convocation Hall and the focus is on "Space 2.0: What's Next?" Doors open at 6pm and there is a reception at 10pm.

According to the press release promoting the event:

With the end of the space shuttle-era and the rise of numerous private companies and organizations in the space sector, space exploration is currently undergoing a major paradigm shift. The Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle being developed by NASA for manned deep space exploration, the rise of companies like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, and new scientific projects such as recent work on finding life on Mars being undertaken by the CSA and the NASA are just some of the exciting new things happening recently in humanity's relationship with space. Recognizing this, ASX is pleased to present a line-up of prominent speakers and relevant talk topics relating to "what's next" in space exploration.

Scheduled speakers for 2012 include:

• Dr. Marc Millis, the founder of the Tau Zero Foundation, the manager of the NASA funded Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project (BPP) and the author of the book, Frontiers of Propulsion Science, which was published in February 2009, by the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

• Dr. Nicole Buckley, who is the Chief Scientist for Life Sciences aboard the International Space Station (ISS) at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). In this role, she is responsible for allocating, developing and leading a robust Canadian life sciences program aboard the ISS.

• Mr. Thomas A. Olson, who is the CEO of The Colony Fund, a public venture capital fund focused on the space entrepreneurial sector. He is also a founding member of the Mars Society and was elected to the Board of the Space Frontier Foundation in 2008. He's a frequent speaker at national space advocacy conferences and focuses on the fiscal, regulatory and political challenges of private space commercialization, the public perceptions of space and humanity's future in the high frontier.

Since its start in 2003, the community managed ASX has grown into one of the largest space focused organizations in Canada. The annual ASX symposium is the largest single-day space related event in Canada, and in the past eight years has drawn a combined audience of about 6,500 people across North America.

The 2012 Expanding Canada's Frontiers Symposium is free for current students who have registered in advance (click here for student registration), $15 dollars CDN until January 10th, 2011 for those of us who are no longer in school (click here for non-student registration), $20 dollars CDN after January 10th for those of us who are simply a little slow to register and $25 dollars CDN at the door for the rest of us who don't register in advance.