AIAA conference to focus on environmental systems

Enabling human survival in hostile environmental conditions - such as in outer space - will be at the focus of the 41st International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), July 17-21 at the Marriott Portland Downtown Waterfront, Portland, Ore. Offering over 50 technical sessions, the conference will examine the needs of humans working and living in hostile environments, with applications inside or outside of terrestrial or outer space habitats or vehicles.

"As the space shuttle program concludes, the next steps in human space exploration are being formulated and put into place. Progress in the development of environmental control and life support and thermal control technologies and extravehicular activities, to name some of the topics covered at ICES, play key roles in current and future space exploration and can be leveraged to help solve challenging issues related to air quality and environmental control in enclosed environments on Earth," stated Dr. Jeffery Farmer of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the conference's general chair.

Farmer continued: "The participants at the ICES conference, through technical paper sessions, panel discussions, keynote speeches by industry leaders, and a variety of networking opportunities, exchange information on these topics and new capabilities and technologies with their peers from all over the world. This interchange not only disseminates valuable information, improving knowledge and quality of work and generating new ideas, but also serves to develop and strengthen ties within the diverse technical communities that support space exploration."

David E. Williams, NASA Johnston Space Center, Houston, is the conference's vice chair. James Reuther, director for strategic integration, Office of the Chief Technologist, NASA, and Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar, NAE, president and CEO, Dunbar International LLC., will be the keynote speakers.

Among the topics to be covered are: Aerospace human factors; environmental control and life-support systems technology; environmental monitoring and controls; planetary protection; EVA systems technology; life sciences; planetary habitats and systems; and thermal control systems technology for both manned and unmanned vehicles.

The 41st ICES conference is organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and is supported by the: AIAA Life Sciences and Technical Committee, AIAA Space Environmental Systems Program Committee, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Environmental Systems Committee, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Crew Systems Technical Committee; and the ICES International Committee. Additional sponsors are: Lockheed Martin Corporation, Paragon Space Development Corporation, and Hamilton Sundstrand, a United Technologies Company.

Provided by American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics