Messin' with Texas

This past Tuesday former astronaut and former US Senator from New Mexico, Harrison “Jack” Schmitt spoke at Lamar University (the university here in Beaumont, Texas). You can read his bio on his wikipedia page. He was part of the Apollo 17, the last manned mission to the Moon.

Astronaut Harrison Schmitt

I actually had not intended to go to the lecture. I remember catching wind of it at the bar over the weekend, but had forgotten about it. I was on my way to the university to watch the final installment of series of movies shown by Beaumont’s French Circle, which I am now a part of. When I got to the gate to the faculty parking lot where I normally park there was a student there directing people where to park. He asked me if I was there to see the astronaut and without even missing a beat I said yes, where should I park.

The lecture was good. To say the least, it was a breath of fresh air. I have been looking to try and get involved in more cultural things around here. Joining the French circle was the first step in that. This lecture was the second. He talked about his trip to the moon which, having always been fascinated by space, I found exhilirating. Then he transitioned into talking about the future of energy and different kinds of fusion. He’s main selling point was Helium-3 fusion. I had never heard of this before, I am guessing, because I have switched my reading interests from news and science publications to novels, short stories and poetry. If you are interested you can download a presentation about the process by clicking here. The short version of it is that fusion of Helium-3 atoms apparently does not produce any nuclear waste by products. It is therefore a form of completely clean nuclear energy. However, Helium-3 doesn’t exist in any significant quantities here on Earth. Schmitt had a whole detailed business model for harvesting Helium-3 from the moon’s surface (see related article) where it is abundant, and bringing it back to Earth for energy production.

Is this entry getting to sciency? Well his presentation started getting into fusion science, which I was interested in during high school, and therefore able to follow along with. When it arrived at the numbers of the business model he had lost most of his audience. He was talking to us as if we were investors. Speaking to a group of students, the lecturer is meant to sell us dreams, to dazzle us with ideas, places and things that we, as the future leader of the world, can chase after. He started out that way by recounting his trip to the moon, but started losing us from there. I could have just been me. Most of the questions were about various types of fusion and the feesability of his proposal. I guess the first part of his presentation built up enough capital with his audience that most people stayed engaged.

It was a great way to spend a Tuesday evening. I later went out with two people I knew from one of the bars I go to and we talked about various things. After the lecture I looked up Lamar University’s schedule of events and I think I will be making an effort to participate in more of them. Feminist art is next!