Odyssey Moon Partners with Paragon Space Development Corporation to Grow first Plant on the Moon.

Google Lunar X PRIZE Contender Odyssey Moon Partners with Paragon Space Development Corporation to Grow first Plant on the Moon.

PRESS CONFERENCE: FRIDAY MARCH 27th START TIME: 1:30PM PDT (3:30PM EDT / 1:30PM Mountain Standard Time)
WHERE: PARAGON SPACE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION 3481 E MICHIGAN ST, TUCSON, ARIZONA 85714

VISUALS AT EVENT: PROTOTYPE BIOLOGICAL LUNAR GREENHOUSE, DISCUSSION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS MISSION, PRESENTATION OF PROTOTYPE TO CONGRESSWOMAN GABRIELLE GIFFORDS (chairwoman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee), WORKING PROTOTYPE of the PARAGON DIVE SYSTEM™, and MEDIA TOUR OF PARAGON SPACE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION’S ORION AND RESEARCH FACILITIES. IMAGERY OF THE LUNAR LANDER PROTOTYPE IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.
TUCSON, Arizona, March 26 –
The first Moon flower will become a reality when private lunar expedition partners Odyssey Moon and Paragon Space Development Corporation deliver a biological greenhouse to the lunar surface.
Google Lunar X PRIZE contender Odyssey Moon Ltd. will announce its partnership with Paragon at a media conference held on March 27, 2009 at the Tucson-based firm, a manufacturer of key components for NASA’s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle that will replace the Space Shuttle and take Astronauts to the Moon and eventually Mars. The lunar plant will be another space biology first for Paragon, having bred the first animals through complete life cycles in space, and grown the first aquatic plant in space.
“People of all ages will get excited about the idea of growing a plant on the Moon,” said Jane Poynter, President and founder of Paragon and an expert on environmental sustainability. “Imagine a bright flower on a plant in a crystal clear growth chamber on the surface of the Moon, with the full Earth rising above the Moonscape behind it; these are the ideas that got me interested in space.”
Jane Poynter and husband Taber MacCallum, Paragon CEO, are well known experts in the closed biological systems communities, and were themselves experimental subjects within a sealed ecosystem as resident scientists in the famous Biosphere 2 project of the early 90’s. Spending two years living with six others in a 3.2 acre greenhouse type structure in Oracle, Arizona, the largest closed system ever built, they emerged as a couple with a newly created company.
Growing the first plant on another world has enormous symbolic importance as well as important scientific research value for creating self contained lunar outposts and eventual settlements. “Plants have been grown in essentially zero gravity and of course in Earth gravity, but never in fractions of gravity,” said Dr. Volker Kern, Paragon’s Director of NASA Human Spaceflight Programs who conducted plant growth experiments in space on the US Space Shuttle. “Scientifically it will be very interesting to understand the effects of the Moon and one sixth gravity on plant growth.”
NASA Ames planetary scientist Dr. Chris McKay will also be supporting the Lunar Oasis science team. "The first plant to grow from seed and complete its life cycle on another world will be a significant step in the expansion of life beyond the Earth. The sooner we do it the better," he said.
In addition to leading the design of biological payloads, Paragon’s responsibilities on the Odyssey Moon team include robotic lunar lander design support and the lander’s thermal control system. Paragon CEO Taber MacCallum will also be joining the Odyssey Moon Board of Advisors.
“We are thrilled to have Paragon join the team with their expertise in thermal and biological systems,” said Odyssey Moon founder and CEO Dr. Robert (Bob) Richards. “I am incredibly inspired by our hope to grow the first plant on another world.”
U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Chairwoman of the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, will participate in the press event and tour Paragon’s Orion and research facilities.
About Odyssey Moon Odyssey Moon Ventures LLC is a U.S. company with offices in Washington, DC and Cocoa Beach, Florida. The company intends to develop and commercialize innovative technologies to offer frequent, low cost and reliable access to the lunar surface for private and government customers. In addition to working with NASA on lander development, Odyssey Moon Ventures will be responsible for the U.S. launch operations and ground processing of spacecraft that will be used in future commercial spaceflights to the Moon. Odyssey Moon Limited is a multi-national commercial lunar enterprise based in the Isle of Man that was first unveiled in December 2007 as the first official contender in the $30M Google Lunar X PRIZE competition. The company is an innovative partnership of aerospace, financial, science, education, legal and policy interests that have come together to offer unique commercial lunar business services and products for humanity’s permanent return to the Moon. Odyssey Moon’s prime contractor is MDA, an experienced company with substantial space heritage in providing robotics on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, and more recently for satellite servicing and planetary exploration. Odyssey Moon is dedicated to the long-term responsible development of the Moon for the benefit of all humanity.

ABOUT PARAGON: Paragon Space Development Corporation joins the engineering disciplines of environmental control, life support, and thermal control to provide premier products and services for our world’s most challenging life support needs, such as human spaceflight and first responder personal protection. Founded in 1993, Paragon is a woman-owned small business headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, with additional offices in Houston, Denver and Washington, DC. For more information, see: http://www.paragonsdc.com/

LETS HERE YOUR VIEWS ON THIS EXCITING ADVENTURE POST YOUR REPLY AT http://www.theflowerclubforum.co.uk/

Flowertime Florist Website...

Flowertime Florist Ltd website is now back up and running just in time for Spring http://www.flowertimeflorist.co.uk/ .

You can use either http://www.flowertimeflorist.co.uk/ or http://www.wesendflowers.co.uk/ and you will logged on to our updated web site.

If you are getting married in West Cornwall you can fill in and send to us a wedding consulation form, before you make an appointment to discuss your wedding.

You can send Flowers and Floral Items to over 145 Countries around the World from our website.

We also send Trenance Chocolates ( made in Cornwall) from our Site.

If you are a flower club and want your details, meetings and anything of interest that you might be doing please log on to http://www.theflowerclubforum.co.uk/

Look forward to hearing from you all, or give us a call on 01736 757006, or a message at flowertime@btconnect.com

Mark and the Team at Flowertime and http://www.wesendflowers.co.uk/

Local School Children's competition winners: Well Done Nina and Marley.

We at http://www.wesendflowers.co.uk/ and Flowertime Florist Ltd www.flowertimeflorist.co.uk a competition for local school children from Penpol, Bodriggy and Connor Downs CP schools to create a poster for Mother's Day. The response was brilliant and we had over 150 entries from the schools, the winners were judged by local photographer David Chapman. David was looking for artistic flare, along with getting the message across for Mother's Day. The winner chosen in the 4-7 years was Nina from Penpol School and in the 8-11 year Marley from Connor Downs School.
Both of the winners received a bouquet of flowers for their Mum's and a gift for themselves.
Pictured below are the two winner's along with their mum's.


Marley and his Mum

Nina and her Mum.



Everyone at http://www.wesendflowers.co.uk/ and Flowertime Florist Ltd would like to thank all the children who took part and to the teachers an school for their support.

Mark

CORNWALL GARDEN SOCIETY Spring Show

SPRING FLOWER SHOW
to be held at
BOCONNOC
nr Lostwithiel.
Turn of A390 at Middle Taphouse and follow signs
on the Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th April

PRESS RELEASE 2009



Plans are well advanced for the 2009 Cornwall Spring Flower Show, to be staged by The Cornwall Garden Society in the lovely setting of the Boconnoc Estate near Lostwithiel, on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th April.



Show Director Debbie Evans reports an encouragingly high level of interest already, and the number of booked Trade Exhibitors, who contribute so much to the interest and content of the show, shows no indication of being affected by the current economic climate.



In addition to the magnificent displays that can be guaranteed from the competitive classes, which comprise the heart of what is one of the West Country’s oldest and largest horticultural shows, there will be much else for visitors to enjoy.



‘We are giving extra space and opportunities for children to participate this year’, explains Debbie. ‘As well as the perennially popular scarecrow competition, we hope local schools will be attracted to the new classes - for A Garden in a Wheelbarrow, and A Decorated Plant Pot.’



‘The Floral and Botanical Art exhibitions have proved highly popular and I am confident that entries to those and the Photographic competition will be up to the usual high standard. We shall be staging the usual Gardeners’ Question Time in Boconnoc Church, and Boconnoc House will be open to view by guided tours over the weekend’.



‘It needs no fewer than 100 volunteers from the Garden Society’s membership to organise and run the event; we all look forward to welcoming everyone with an interest in gardening to what is a special day in the calendar’.