Work Breakdown Structufor SCSC

> I think that the only person with final decsion capability is Mr.
Bass.
> What he is looking for probably comes under the "When he sees it
he will
> know" heading and he is probably open to considering whatever
various
> organizations are willing to propose doing. However there are
probably
> two limits to what he will accept.
> 1. The current BioSphere 2 facility must be usefully utilized in
some way.
> 2. The facility at some point will no longer be funded by Mr. Bass.

I think that this is the appropraite place for me to jump into the
thread. First off, Mitchell, terrific idea and the thread is proving
good at sharpening the idea.

Here are my immediate thoughts in no particular order.

ISTM that Mr. Bass funded the original concept, and the subsequent
subsidy to Columbia University, from his desire to accomplish the
goals and to be part of the earned respect for the science conducted
there and to also be rsponsible for the enthusiasm that would result
from the public.

Unfortunately I don't think that things turned out that way. The
original itieration didn't pass muster as science and then
Columbia's involvement didn't transform the facility into a respect-
earning institution.

The drama of the the first iteration turned the public's curiousity
into something that Mr. Bass probably didn't count on.

He wanted to accomplish either a particular goal, or satisfy himself
with this unique form of charitable giving. Now unless he's become
thorougly disillusioned by the process he probably still has these
goals in mind. A quick litmus test can be found in his willingness
to continue some form of funding for another attempt to make use of
the facility.

So far so good.

What needs to be done is to help Mr. Bass achieve his laudable goals?

Two questions come immediately to mind.

1.) Is SSI the appropriate organization to take on the task of
meeting Mr. Bass's goals?

2.) Is BioSphere 2 the right facility within which to embark on the
journey?

I agree with the need to create a center for the study of space
colonization. There are many issues that need be studied that don't
neatly fall under the mission statements of existing space programs.

I can foresee BioSphere 2 being a cetner of excellence for the
studies needed but not in its current formulation.

I think that SSI can be the operating organization but we simply
don't have the deep pockets that Mr. Bass may desire.

Here's how I think it may be able to work.

Extensive internal remodeling is done to BioSphere 2 to develop
working areas, labs, and accomodation in the midst of the "life
support system." The facility itself becomes a magnet, a cache or
glamor of sorts, where the various subdisciplines can gather for
field tests, symposia, etc.

This magnet function can draw in some revenue at later stages for
the services it provides, when respectability of involvement has
been *earned* but the journey to respectability will have to be
subsidized.

What do I mean by respectability?

Well, I can see a whole series of experiments being designed and
articulated in the proposal to Mr. Bass. Then upon acceptance, the
facility and the stature of Mr. Bass would generate a lot of
publicity. We in turn would use that publicity to get the message
out that there are a number of experiments that need doing and that
an open source movement is what we encourage.

Within the remodeled facility there could be a number of specific
chambers each seeking to isolate some specific functions of bio-
necessity. Experiments could be designed and controlled by students,
professors and interested unaffilaited people from around the world.

Robotics could be designed for resource extraction. Control systems
could be programmed. The robot could be sent to the facility but
control would remain dispersed.

Consortia of material science interests could pool their money and
develop common infrastructure in suppport of their individual
experiments.

This type of grass roots involvement would actually earn more
respect than the initial attempt at science did with the Bionauts.

After time, and success with the smaller scale experiments,
traditional sources of funding could be sought for the more
ambitious efforts.

Vacuum chambers and space radiation chambers at NASA centers could
be used to test the equipment for harsh conditions.

Other than interest in the subject material does SSI have the depth
of administrative knowledge to bring this vision to fruition. I
think not. Can it hire the expertise? Yes it can. Can it afford to?
No it can't. Will funding be provided to hire the expertise? Who
knows.

It seems to me that we'd be counting on Mr. Bass to enable our
dreams and he'd be just as capable of doing this all on his own. SSI
doesn't really bring much to the table that can't be quickly
replicated by other organizations that have the funding depth that
we don't.

Well, that's it for now. What do you think?

TangoMan