The 10th annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate will be Monday 15 March at New York City’s Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. This year’s topic is “The Moon, Mars and Beyond: Where Next for the Manned Space Program?”
Panelists will include Kenneth Ford (Institute for Human and Machine Cognition), Lester Lyles (United States Air Force, retired), Paul Spudis (Lunar and Planetary Institute), Steven Squyres (Cornell University), and Robert Zubrin (Mars Society). The discussion, as described by the museum, will cover “Should NASA return to the Moon, where man has already walked, or proceed directly to Mars? This topic has sparked heated debate in recent years as NASA considers new missions for its manned space program. Join Director of the Hayden Planetarium Neil deGrasse Tyson and a panel of space exploration experts for the 10th annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate as they discuss the future of manned space travel and the thorny issues, including political will, national security, and international competition, that are central to the subject.”
In response to a question as to whether the panel is one-sided on the topic, Tyson tells SFScope that the panelists do represent a range of views, from the ardent Mars supporter Zubrin to the equally ardent Moon supporter Spudis. Additionally, he tells us “There will also be a strong manned/unmanned dimension of the conversation.”
The program starts at 7:30PM in the LeFrak Theater on the first floor. Tickets are $15 each (see this page for more information or to purchase tickets.
The series is named after science fiction grand master Isaac Asimov, who was “one of the most prolific and influential authors of our time, [and] was a dear friend and supporter of the American Museum of Natural History. In his memory, the Hayden Planetarium is honored to host the annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate—generously endowed by relatives, friends, and admirers of Isaac Asimov and his work—bringing the finest minds in the world to the Museum each year to debate pressing questions on the frontier of scientific discovery. Proceeds from ticket sales of the Isaac Asimov Memorial Debates benefit the scientific and educational programs of the Hayden Planetarium.”