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Thoughts on the way to the Moon

view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman

Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman (proud son of Baltimore, Maryland) took this photo of Earth after the crew put their ship on course for the Moon.

Except for a slight sliver of sunlight at upper left, the only illumination of Earth is from the full Moon behind the photographer.

Venus is at upper left.

[Artemis II pilot Victor Glover]
"... I think these observances are important, and as we are so far from Earth and looking back at, you know, the beauty of Creation.  I think, for me, one of the really important personal perspectives that I have up here is, I can really see Earth as one thing.  And you know, when I read the Bible, and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us, who were created, it’s…you, you have this amazing place…this spaceship.  You guys are talking to us because we’re in a spaceship really far from Earth.  But you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos.  Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special.  But we’re the same distance from you, and I’m trying to tell you, just trust me, you are special.  In all of this emptiness, this is a whole bunch of nothing; this thing we call the universe, you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together.  I think as we go into Easter Sunday thinking about, you know, all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, um, this is an opportunity to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing in that we’ve got to get through this together."

Coming Thursday, April 9

A Duality in Mission Regarding UAPs:
the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)

Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick

Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick
AARO was a Congressionally mandated organization with two missions: 1. organize, streamline, collate, and investigate current reports of military and government sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), and 2. Investigate the US Government's historical works and associated whistleblower accounts regarding UAP/UFO. This presentation will discuss the establishment of the office, the investigations into the allegations, and the associated findings and conclusions.

Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick is an American laser and materials physicist who served as the first director of the United States Department of Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office. Kirkpatrick is also an adjunct assistant professor of physics at the University of Georgia.

Thursday, April 9, 2026
7:00 -- 9:00PM
Center for Naval Analyses
3003 Washington Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22201
Room 214 MPR


Near Clarendon Metro
There is also paid parking under the building.


IMPORTANT:
The presentation is free, but all attendees must register by April 6.

Please use the form below to register:



Coming Saturday, March 21

Industrial Scale Renewable Energy:
A Skeptic’s Scrutiny From The Hinterlands


Mark Haynes


Mark’s talk will be an examination of and a skeptic’s perspective of many of the claims about renewable energy from the rural, environmental, power grid, and “big picture” perspectives.  
Mark retired in 2021 as President of Concordia Power, a small consulting firm focused on strategic services in the areas of advanced fission and fusion energy development.  Previously in his professional career, he was a Vice President of General Atomics and a Professional Staff Member of the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.  He has a Master's degree in Environmental Science from Miami University in Ohio and a BS in Environmental Science from Morehead State University in Kentucky.  Mark and his wife Caroline have a home in Arlington, but spend much of their time working on their forested land in West Virginia, where they have an off-grid solar cabin.  As a volunteer, Mark is highly involved in energy development and land conservation issues.

March 21, 2026, 1:30 to 3:00PM
B-CC Regional Services Center
4805 Edgemoor Lane 2nd Floor (West Room)
Bethesda, MD


Directions: https://tinyurl.com/visitbcccenter

Parking: (Garage 49, $1.50/hr) https://tinyurl.com/BethesdaGarages


FREE admission – Everyone welcome, members and non-members

In person and livestreamed: https://www.youtube.com/live/Ckb0r_NiG9Q

Coming February 21, 2026

No Blueprint for the Moon:
Navigating the Unknowns of Extraterrestrial Construction


Dr. Caitlin Ahrens

This presentation examines lunar architecture not as science fiction, but as an applied problem in risk management, engineering under uncertainty, and evidence-based design. We will explore what it would actually mean to plan and build structures on the Moon, where our geotechnical data are sparse, environmental hazards are extreme, and many Earth-based design assumptions simply do not hold. We will delve into strategies for site planning in an extreme, unfamiliar environment, where Earth-based assumptions must be rethought. Key challenges discussed include working with limited data, potential hazards from the environment, and the need for adaptable, resilient design solutions in lunar conditions.

Dr. Caitlin Ahrens is an assistant research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and the University of Maryland. She is a member of the Diviner Science Team with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. In collaboration with Artemis, she serves as a technical support scientist to assist in risk assessments of astronaut, rover, and lander activity at the lunar surface. Dr. Ahrens is Principal Investigator on a recent lunar sustainability work funded by the (former) NASA Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy. She also is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) working on how lunar architectures should be monitored for hazards, including construction, at the lunar surface. 


February 21, 2026, 1:30 PM
B-CC Regional Services Center
4805 Edgemoor Lane 2nd Floor (West Room)
Bethesda, MD

Directions: https://tinyurl.com/visitbcccenter

Parking: (Garage 49, $1.50/hr) https://tinyurl.com/BethesdaGarages


FREE admission – Everyone welcome, members and non-members
Livestreamed: https://youtube.com/live/9jkezKUmI0Y

Coming on January 10, 2026

"Everything you wanted to know about coronaviruses but were afraid to ask."

Laura H. Kahn MD, MPH, MPP, author of One Health and the Politics of COVID-19


Using an interdisciplinary One Health approach, Dr. Laura Kahn will draw upon material from her book, One Health and the Politics of Covid-19, to talk about the history, science, research, and politics of coronaviruses. One Health is the concept that human, animal, plant, environmental, and ecosystem health are linked. This is a relatively new term, but an ancient concept recognized by indigenous peoples around the world.

Coronaviruses are zoonotic viruses, meaning that they originate in non-human animals (i.e., bats) and spread to humans. The most well-known coronaviruses are Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Covid-19. Unlike SARS and MERS, which emerged in 2002 and 2012, respectively, Covid-19 appears unusual in some of its clinical manifestations. The gold standard evidence used to prove the natural origins of the earlier coronavirus epidemics is lacking with Covid-19. The origin of this virus remains controversial.


Coronaviruses were first discovered by veterinarians in the early 1930s. Physicians discovered them in the 1960s while studying “the common cold” but assumed that they were merely nuisance microbes. Medical researchers lost interest in them until the shocking appearance of SARS. Gain-of-function research of pandemic potential pathogens, such as SARS, and the possibility that it might have led to Covid-19, raises concerns about the ethics and risks of this type of research. 

Dr. Laura H. Kahn is a physician, policy researcher, educator, and author. For almost 20 years, she was a research scholar in the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University. Her education and training encompass nursing, medicine, public health, and public policy.

A native of California, Dr. Kahn holds a bachelor's degree in nursing from UC Los Angeles, a doctorate in medicine from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, a master's degree in public health from Columbia University and a master's degree in public policy from Princeton University. Dr. Kahn is a fellow of the American College of Physicians. In 2007, the New Jersey Chapter of the American College of Physicians awarded her with their highest honor, the Laureate Award. In 2014, the American Association of Public Health Physicians awarded her with a Presidential Award for Meritorious Service, and in 2016, the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society (AVES) awarded her with their highest honor for her work in One Health: the K.F. Meyer-James H. Steele Gold Head Cane Award.

January 10, 2 P.M.
Connie Morella Library
7400 Arlington Road
Bethesda, MD [map] [directions]
(Bethesda Metro station)

FREE admission – Everyone welcome, members and non-members
livestreamed: https://youtube.com/live/Oebw-td-I3c?feature=share