Canadian Space Agency Hosts a Tweetup for the Landing of the Mars Science Laboratory

To celebrate the return of a Canadian-made scientific instrument to the surface of Mars, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is sponsoring a Tweetup – and the public is invited.


Nasa‘s Mars Science Laboroatory (MSL), nicknamed Curiosity is scheduled to land in Gale crater on Mars during the early morning hours of Monday, August 6. On board is a Canadian contribution – a scientific instrument called the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS).
To highlight this historic event, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is organising a special activity for members of the media during which it is also opening its doors to a limited number of tweeters. The Tweetup event will take place at the John H. Chapman Space Centre, the headquarters of the Canadian Space Agency in Saint-Hubert, Qubec.
A Tweetup is an informal meeting of people who use the social messaging medium Twitter. Selected participants will attend a special landing event with members of the media during the night of August 5 to 6. A special program will also be offered during the day of August 6 as well as a tour of the CSA facilities.
According to the CSA, the planned program is as follows:
Monday August 6
1:00 to 2:00 a.m. Landing event with members of the media (this event will also be webcasted on the CSA Website)
(Tweeters return to hotel to get some sleep!)
9:00 to 9:30 Arrival and registration; informal meeting between the participants
9:30 to 10:00 Greetings by Gilles Leclerc, Director General, Exploration
10:00 to 10:20 Presentation (TBA)
10:30 to 12:30 p.m. Visit of the facilities
12:30 to 1:15 Lunch with tweetup host Isabelle Tremblay, Senior Systems Engineer
1:15 to 1:45 Presentation and demo in the Exploration Development and Operations Centre
1:45 to 2:15 Rover demonstration in the Analogue Terrain (weather permitting)
2:15 to 3:15 Discussion about the future of Canadian space exploration with Jean-Claude Piedboeuf, Director, Space Exploration Development
3:15 to 3:30 Closing remarks
Registration for the event can be made on the CSA website between June 26 and July 3. Ten tweeters and their guests will be accommodated for the event.
Registration for the event should be done on the CSA Website between June 26 and July 3, 2012. From all the registrants, 10 tweeters will be randomly selected. The ten lucky tweeters will be able to attend the event with a guest.
Attendees will need a Twitter account to participate. According to the CSA,

“This event is designed for Twitter users who follow the @CSA_ASC and/or @ASC_CSA (in French) Twitter accounts. The goal is to invite people to interact with each other and discuss the event and their favourite subjects: space exploration. Participants must also provide their own device to tweet (smart phone, laptop, etc.). A Wi-fi connection is available at the CSA in most parts of the building. The Twitter account for the Tweetup is @CSA_ASC (@ASC_CSA in French), and the hashtag is #CSATweetup. CSA will use both to post updates and reminders about the event.”

More information on the CSA Tweetup can be found here.
The CSA has held previous Tweetups, the last being for the last space shuttle mission – STS 135 last July.
NASA has grand plans for a Curiosity Tweetup. Calling it a NASA Social, six NASA centers will host simultaneous Tweetups on Friday, August 3.
Meanwhile, Curiosity made a slight adjustment to its trajectory yesterday, putting it on course for its landing in just under 40 days.

About Randy Attwood

Amateur astronomer, astrophotographer, space exploration historian. Executive Director, The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada / Publisher - SkyNews magazine.

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