Surface of Burbank:
OASIS at the 2002 Loscon Convention

By Steve Bartlett

With their mascot Marvin the Martian "riding herd" on a Mars rover mockup, OASIS members promoted space development at the Loscon science fiction convention over Thanksgiving weekend. The Los Angeles NSS chapter discussed current and planned space projects and ways to take large numbers of people into space at the annual event in Burbank.

Marvin the Martian on Mars Rover mockup, Loscon 2002. Photograph courtesy Steve Bartlett.

Space activists handed out candy bars in their traditional "Take a Piece of Mars" promotion while informing hundreds of attendees about the benefits of space projects to people on earth. The OASIS booth featured showings of the Rocketcam CD-ROM video (courtesy of Ecliptic Enterprises), free posters and bumper stickers, copies of the popular Space on the Web flyer, and copies of the chapter newsletter, The Odyssey. The NSS representatives drew attention to their display by periodically running the radio-controlled Mars rover mockup around the convention floor with the Warner Brothers' cartoon character mascot riding atop. The rover and its passenger drew broad smiles to passersby and were featured in the Loscon "Best of the Convention" video.

The OASIS table staffers braved heavy, cold rain showers to attend the convention but enjoyed the weekend experience of meeting the crowd of science and science fiction fans. The following people provided substantial assistance with this year's booth: Bob Gounley, Paula Del Fosse, Tina Beychok, Diane Rhodes, Gail Bondi, Bill Ernoehazy, John Bondi-Ernoehazy, and Rachel Steinberger.

Loscon 2002 table. Photograph courtesy Steve Bartlett.

The convention also featured several space-related programs, including talks on the Mars Exploration Rover, the Cassini mission to Saturn, the International Space Station, the latest developments in reusable launch vehicles, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, space medicine, space repairs, the environmental issues of space travel, and the direction of the space program. Guests included representatives from several aerospace firms, as well as the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and experts in the medical field.

OASIS has supported the Loscon convention for the past several years, providing information booths, speakers on space projects, space-related activities for adults and children, and display materials. Members wishing to help out with the 2003 event are encouraged to send an email to the OASIS website at least three weeks prior to Thanksgiving.

Surface of Burbank: OASIS at the 2002 Loscon Convention

Surface of Burbank:
OASIS at the 2002 Loscon Convention