Title
50-year certificate in recognition of more than 50 years membership of The British Interplanetary Society
Reference
MOOR/J/04
Production date
2002 - 2002
Creator
- British Interplanetary SocietyBiographyBiography
The British Interplanetary Society (BIS) was founded in 1933 by a group of space flight enthuasiasts to promote and educate on the exploration and use of space for the benefit of humanity.
In the years before World War II a technical core of BIS members made the first plans for a rocket capable of landing three men on the Moon and returning them to Earth. After World War II members of the Society developed ideas for the exploration of outer space including developing liquid rockets for launch into space, the construction of Space Stations, the human exploration of the Moon, the development of probes to investigate other planets in our Solar System and the use of space telescopes to observe distant stars and galaxies.
In 1951 the BIS organized the world’s first International Congress on “The Artificial Satellite”, and became one of the founder members of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). Earth Remote Sensing was initially advocated and studied at an international level at its NATO Conference in the 1950s, with space biology following soon afterwards.
Planetary studies began with papers examining the propulsion requirements to reach Mars and Venus, as well as projected instruments for scientific probes. Advocacy of studies on comets and meteors helped further the Giotto mission to Halley’s Comet and later the ESA Rosetta mission.
Studies and long term thinking on human spaceflight and launch vehicle development have always been a core area of activity amongst Society members, with the visionary early work on the BIS Lunar Lander, the Orbital Launcher and various other space launchers and space stations.
With the demise of the Apollo Program in 1972, the British Interplanetary Society continued to encourage exploration of ideas on the possibilities of a return to the Moon and its eventual colonization.
More recently a group within the Society has initiated a series of studies on the scientific and technical objectives of conducting a human exploration of the Martian North Polar Cap (Project Boreas), and another group within the Society has initiated a follow on study to the Daedalus Interstellar Starprobe, called Project Icarus.
Extent
1 item
Physical description
Framed and glazed
Language
English
Level of description
ITEM
Repository name
Science Museum, London
Associated people and organisations
- Moore, PatrickBiographyBiography
(1923-2012), amateur astronomer, writer, broadcaster
Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore was born at Pinner, Middlesex on 4 Mar 1923. When war came, he turned down a place at Cambridge and lied about his age to join the RAF, serving as a navigator with Bomber Command and rising to the rank of Flight Lieutenant. War brought personal tragedy as his fiancee, Lorna, was killed when an ambulance she was driving was hit by a bomb. He never married. After the war he momentarily taught at a prep school, but he pursued his interest in astronomy by building his own telescope in the garden of his Sussex home.
He produced detailed maps of the moon's surface which were used by Nasa as part of the preparations for the moon landing. A growing interest in extra-terrestrial matters persuaded the BBC to launch a new programme explaining the mysteries of space; Moore was chosen to present it. The first edition of The Sky at Night was broadcast on 24th April 1957; Moore presented the programme for more than four decades.
In 1965, for three years, he became the director of a new planetarium at Armagh, Northern Ireland. In 1969 he was part of the BBC commentary team to describe the moon landings. Despite his expertise on the solar system, Moore described himself as an amateur astronomer as he never had any formal training.
Moore was awarded an OBE in 1968 and was knighted and appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001. In 2009, after saving Airdrie Public Observatory from closure in 2002, Moore accepted the position of Honorary President of Airdrie Astronomical Association, a position which he held until his death. He wrote more than 70 books during his lifetime, most of the manuscripts banged out on a 1908 manual typewriter.
Moore died at his home in Selsey, West Sussex on the 9th December 2012, aged 89.
Conditions governing access
Open Access
Conditions governing Reproduction
Copies may be supplied in accordance with current copyright legislation and Science Museum Group terms and conditions
Finding aids
Box 40