Great Cosmonautical (Astronautical) Talks and Lectures for the First Half of 2022!
We certainly didn’t stop with the great cosmonautical events for the visually impaired last year. On the contrary! We are continuing! For the first half of 2022, the Expert Group for Barrier-Free Astronomy and Cosmonautics of the Czech Astronomical Society (Nesmir) has prepared several interesting events for the visually impaired interested in cosmonautics. With two expert speakers – Milan Halousek and Tomas Pribyl – and an inquisitive moderator – Radek Seifert.
We want to continue to support thematic talks or lectures through the online environment. Last year we tried out a talk via the social network Clubhouse in the Potměchut club – and we will stay with this option for a while. The groups for each event will be open – so it is possible to join without prior registration.
Cosmonautical Talks and Lectures
In the following text we present an overview of lectures or talks focused on cosmonautics. During these events, people with visual impairments can shamelessly take an interest in the topic in a way that is natural to them.
The dates are tentative (however, they will be changed only in serious cases). Language – Czech.
John Glenn, the First American in Orbit
The lecture and discussion will take place on Monday 21 February 2022 from 17.30 to 19.00 via the social network Clubhouse: club Potměchut.
Speaker: Tomáš Přibyl.
Description: Sixty years ago, in February 1962, the first American astronaut, John Glenn, went into orbit. It was a huge boost for the United States after a long string of Soviet space firsts. And it was also the beginning of the 1960s American space ride that culminated in the landing of a man on the moon.
Artemis: the Return of Man to the Moon
The lecture and discussion will take place on Monday 28 March 2022 from 17.30 to 19.00 via the social network Clubhouse: club Potměchut.
Speaker: Tomas Pribyl.
Description: That’s how long it will be this year since the last human landing on the Moon, the Apollo 17 mission. But work is underway to walk the lunar surface again. Preparations for the launch of the giant SLS rocket, the Orion spacecraft, are in full swing in Florida, the first parts of the Gateway base are being prepared, the Lunar Module is being developed… What will man’s return to the Moon look like, when will we see it – and what can we look forward to afterwards?
The History of Astronautics, from Chinese Rockets to the Present
The lecture and discussion will take place on Thursday 21 April 2022 from 17.30 to 19.00 via the social network Clubhouse: club Potměchut.
Speaker: Milan Halousek.
Description: Humanity’s space age began on October 4, 1957 with the launch of the first Sputnik. The journey from Chinese rockets to today’s spaceflight has been a long one, with many hurdles but also many amazing moments.
In the lecture by Milan Halousek from the Czech Astronomical Society, we will recall the most important milestones in space history – the first man in space, the landing of Earthlings on the Moon, the first Czechoslovak cosmonaut, the era of space shuttles and orbital stations.
Cosmonautics Mostly Unseriously
The lecture and discussion will take place on Monday 30 May 2022 from 5.30 to 7pm via the social network Clubhouse: club Potměchut.
Speaker: Milan Halousek.
Description: Or „What do astronauts do when the control center isn’t looking?!“ Flying into space is a responsible and dangerous job – but even with a lot of work, astronauts have to find time to eat, sleep and relax. What happens in orbit when the control centre isn’t looking? How do astronauts prepare lunch, wash and go to the bathroom, and sleep in space? What about alcohol? And is there even room for sex in space?
Universe „Made in China“
The lecture and discussion will take place on Monday 13 June 2022 from 5.30 to 7.00 pm via the social network Clubhouse: club Potměchut.
Speaker: Tomas Pribyl.
Description: China is a cosmic superpower with everything. It has put a man in space, created its own orbital station, landed a probe with a lander and an automated vehicle on Mars, tested a new spacecraft and a small space shuttle, is developing reusable rockets, has probes working on both the upside down and the downside out side of the Moon, has sampled rocks from its surface and transported them to laboratories on Earth, is testing space weapons… Let’s imagine China’s space present and near future, about which we will hear much, much more.
New challenges in astronautics – back to the Moon!
The lecture and discussion will take place on Monday 18 July 2022 from 17.30 to 19.00 via the social network Clubhouse: club Potměchut.
Speaker: Milan Halousek.
Description: New space stations, new launch vehicles, new astronaut cabins, a base at the South Pole of the Moon. The ARTEMIS programme, the programme to return humans to the Moon after nearly 60 years, will bring all this. And then there will be the journey to Mars, space tourism, spaceflight, …
Two speakers and a moderator
Milan Halousek – speaker: Chairman of the Astronautical Section of the Czech Astronomical Society, Chairman of the Kosmos-news educational association, which aims to popularize cosmonautics especially among school children, but also among the general public, founding member of the Czech Cosmo Club and member of the Astronomical Society of Pardubice. In the Czech Space Office he was responsible for many years for organizing educational and popularization programs, supporting the participation of Czech students in national and international courses and projects focused on modern science, technology, cosmonautics and astronomy. Co-founding member of the Expert Group on Barrier-Free Astronomy and Cosmonautics of the Czech Astronomical Society.
Tomas Pribyl – speaker: Cosmonautics columnist and author of many non-fiction books. To name a few Death was Named Challenger, The Day Columbia didn’t Come Back, Treasures of Astronautics, or Conquering the Moon. Tomas Pribyl has personally visited every NASA space center in the United States, met more than 260 astronauts, and has been at the launches of several space shuttles. He collects signatures of astronauts, his collection is one of the largest in the world and is listed in the Czech Book of Records. He works as a curator of aviation and cosmonautics at the Technical Museum in Brno.
Radek Seifert – moderator: Radek Seifert works at the CTU in Prague in the field of supporting the education of students with special needs, and also as a lecturer of Assistive Technology at the Faculty of Nuclear and Physical Engineering. He studied social work at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague. He is a co-founding member of the Expert Group for Barrier-Free Astronomy and Cosmonautics of the Czech Astronomical Society.
Glossary of Important Terms
- Astronomy: primarily a natural science field whose subject of study is objects (planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, comets, …) and phenomena (supernova explosions, gamma-ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, relic radiation, …) beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
- Cosmonautics = astronautics: the scientific and technical discipline theoretically and practically concerned with travel outside the Earth’s atmosphere, i.e., space travel.
- Aeronautics: the branch of science and technology devoted to the study, design, and manufacture of machines capable of flying in the air.
- Astronomical engineering: engineering operating on astronomical scales, that is, with planets, stars, asteroids, comets, etc.
The Participants in the Project are
- Expert Group for Barrier-Free Astronomy and Cosmonautics of the Czech Astronomical Society
- Teiresiás Centre of Masaryk University through the IEDA project (Inclusive education: ensuring participation of persons with disabilities in non-formal adult education)
- SONS (United Organisation of the Blind and Partially Sighted)
- Technical Museum in Brno
