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If you’ve always wanted to visit the Red Planet, you have Ray Bradbury to thank. Well, sort of.

On Saturday, Nov. 12, The Planetary Society will be presenting Bradbury with the Thomas O. Paine Award for the Advancement of Human Exploration of Mars. As the author of The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury has inspired many people – scientists included – to dream of visiting Mars.

The award, named after the former NASA administrator who served at the time of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and long-time director of the society, will be presented at a gala with the theme “Our Next Age of Exploration.” The event coincides with The Planetary Society’s 25^th anniversary and will be held in Arcadia, Calif.

James Cameron, The Titanic director who has been spending time shooting undersea documentaries of late, will also receive an award: the Cosmos Award for the public presentation of science.

The Oct. 17 issue of Science Fiction Weekly (www.scifi.com/sfw), included a brief note about a San Francisco performing arts group, CounterPulse, planning live performances of “Once More with Feeling” – the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It sounded like something a genre traveler would be interested in, so I went the company’s website and found a sad story instead.

All performances of the show had been canceled because Fox sent the dance company a cease and desist letter. Apparently, this little, all-volunteer group had failed to ask permission before pulling the show together. Oops.

But what’s worse, as reading the correspondence between Fox’s legal counsel and the leader of the performance showed, is that David and Goliath just don’t speak the same language. OK, that may be a no brainer, but it seems to me that someone in the Fox chain would have noticed what was really going on. (Just in case that isn’t clear – what was going on was a heartfelt homage to a beloved TV show.)

When I first looked into this, all (or so they said) the correspondence was posted. Now, only a single letter sent to Fox on Oct. 20 is posted. But, I can give you summary.

When Fox found out about the show, they sent a long, legal-ease-filled letter stating their rights to the Buffy brand and that “you, and all those who have acted in concert with you or under your direction and control, respect Fox’s intellectual property and refrain from any further activities which would undermine our efforts to maintain our rights.” Fair enough.

In response, Patrick Simms – the mastermind of this “effrontery” – sent an email explaining his, and his cohorts’, ignorance. Then he asked, “what can I do to get consent from FOX to stage this musical either now or in the future? What kind of fees, or license would we need so that we may proceed?”

What followed were a few more exchanges about possible legal action.

On Oct. 18, CounterPulse received an email from Joss Whedon’s assistant that Whedon, the creator of the TV Series based on the movie, supported having Fox give permission to do the show. As of this writing, no permission has been given.

I may be ignorant on this issue – and I probably am – but it just seems to me that working with fan-based groups like this could only help Fox build, develop and possibly even grow their “intellectual property.” I’ve heard stories like this before, and each time I just shake my head. Goliath just doesn’t get it.

The premiere issue of The Genre Traveler covered the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. Recently, the Museum announced complementary events for the exhibit:

Saturday, October 22
If you’re already in the Boston area, you might want to help the museum celebrate the opening of the exhibit by attending the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination Gala. Of course, you’ll need to be independently wealthy because the ticket prices are high – this is a fundraising event. An “Individual Intergalactic Passport” runs $750 and includes the cocktail reception, exclusive access to the exhibit, seated dinner with menu designed and presented by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, live auction hosted by Anthony Daniels, and special Star Wars performances throughout the evening. If you can gather up a group of 10, you have a choice between the “Imperial Stormtroopers Table” for $7,500 or the “Jedi Masters Table” for $10,000. The latter adds on name recognition of host in the Star Wars exhibit as a “Patron” of the exhibition while it is in Boston and an exclusive photo opportunity with special Star Wars guests. For more information call (617) 589-0185 or visit www.mos.org/doc/1768.

October 27, 2005 through April 30, 2006
In addition to the exhibit, the Museum of Science will feature a special Star Wars themed planetarium show. "Far, Far Away: The Worlds of Star Wars" compares the fantasy planets of the Star Wars movies to Earth and to the planets and moons in our Solar System and is approximately 40 minutes long.

November 4, 2005
The Museum of Science is hosting a lecture series featuring guests from Lucas’s animation and visual effects companies discussing he changes they caused, or witnessed, while making the Star Wars films. “Puppet to Pixels: The Digital Transformation of Yoda” presents Rob Coleman, Animation & Development Director of Lucasfilm Animation Ltd., discussing why digital doubles are used, and what their implications are for actors, writers, and directors. Lectures in the series begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $10 per lecture and includes dessert reception. For an updated calendar of speakers and topics, visit www.mos.org/faces.

November 8 - 13, 2005
For one week only, the Wilbur Theater will host Charles Ross' critically acclaimed hit “One-Man Star Wars Trilogy,” a high energy, nonstop blast through the first three Star Wars films. Being a one-man show, Ross, the writer and solo performer, plays all the characters, recreates the effects, sings the music, flies the ships, and fights both sides of the battles.

In honor of the upcoming "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination" exhibit, Broadway in Boston has reserved an exclusive number of prime seats for Museum of Science audiences at the Nov. 9, 2005, 8 p.m. performance. Tickets are available for $38.50 each at (617) 931-2787, ticketmaster.com, and in person at The Colonial Theatre and The Opera House box offices. Be sure to order tickets by Oct. 28th and mention the code MOSSW to gain access to these prime seats. (General tickets also available for all seven performances.)

The Wilbur Theatre was built in 1914 and is located at 246 Tremont St., Boston, Mass.

Would you pay $20 million (USD) to visit space? Gregory Olsen, Ph.D., a U.S. scientist and millionaire reportedly did just that. He, and an American-Russian crew aboard Russia's Expedition 12, set off for the International Space Station yesterday, making Olsen the third non-astronaut to visit the station. They are due to arrive tomorrow (Monday).

Although Olsen would rather be called a "space flight participant" than a "space tourist," in many ways that is actually what he is. Olsen's trip was brokered by Space Adventures Ltd., a "space experiences company" based in Arlington, Va., the same company that organized trips for the first two space tourists: Dennis Tito, a businessman from California, visited the space station in 2001, and Mark Shuttleworth from South Africa, went in 2002.

And these aren't necessarily the interested few. Market research has found that the interest in space tourism is substantial -- but as a genre traveler, you probably already knew that! In 2001, Space Adventures surveyed 2,022 people selected based on income, education level and location (U.S. and Canada). 86% showed an interest in traveling into space for leisure and tourism. Studies have also been conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, all with similar positive results.

Funds for Space

On Friday, Olsen told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he hoped his flight would help "make space flight more routine." It is certain, however, that his money is helping the under-funded Russian Space Agency, which has turned to space tourism as a way to generate extra funds. According to SpaceFuture.com, space tourism may be the only way to make space activities a profitable, commercial endeavor, as well as take much of the burden of space exploration off the shoulders of taxpayers.

What Is Space Tourism?

Space tourism is defined as "members of the public traveling to and from space by buying tickets like an airline," according to SpaceFuture.com. But, it really isn't that easy. There are physical and medical requirements for anyone traveling into space, primarily due to the g-force the body experiences during lift off.

Still, the dream lives on. According to Eric Anderson, president of Space Adventures, Olsen "has really brought out a lot more people who are very interested in this." As he says, "The third time is the charm."

Space Adventures offers a variety of programs for potential space tourists, such as Zero-Gravity and MiG (micro-gravity) flights, cosmonaut training, spaceflight qualification programs, reservations for future suborbital spacecrafts and DSE-Alpha. The latter is the first in a series of lunar missions to be featured in Space Adventures' Deep Space Expeditions program, expected to begin as early as 2008. (Two commercial seats are available at $100,000,000 (USD) each.)

Space Commercialism

Although Olsen rejects assertions that space tourism is leading to the commercialization of space, commercialism is joining him on his journey. In addition to about 50 scientific experiments to be conducted during Expedition 12, a television commercial for Nissin Food Products' Cup Noodle instant noodles will be shot. A cosmonaut will star in the commercial shot using a high-definition camera sent along by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. The commercial is scheduled to air sometime in November.

Space Tourism for Everybody

Right now, the only way for space tourists to get into space is aboard the space shuttle or the Russian Soyuz - both rather inefficient and expensive. But that may not be the case forever. Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin suite of companies including Virgin Records and Virgin Atlantic, formed Virgin Galactic in 2004, with the goal of becoming the first commercial space tourism operator. This happened on the coattails of SpaceShipOne's successful flight on June 21, 2004.

"We're going to space," Branson promised at a Sept. 27, 2004, press conference. That day, he announced "plans to build - and launch - within three years the first of Virgin's fleet of Spaceships - the VSS Enterprise. A spaceship designed to carry fare-paying pioneers on a journey to the stars."

SOURCES:

----. (2005.) "Millionaire Blasts Off to Space." Oct. 1.

Eckel, Mike. (2005.) "U.S. Space Tourist Ready to Blast-Off." Sep 30, 6:22 AM (ET).

Press Release. (2005.) "Space Adventures Announces Exclusive Marketing Agreement with Travel Agency, JTB Corp." Aug. 18.

WEBSITES:

SpaceFuture.com

SpaceAdventures.com

Science.HowStuffWorks.com/space-tourism.htm

VirginGalactic.com