ISM's 20th

It's a common belief - you could even call it a truism - that pixel creations in virtual worlds don't last long. Builds come and go, as do the people who make them. This week we made a return visit to a sim on Kitely that has proved this is not always the case. It's the International Spaceflight Museum which these days is an 8x8 VAR region, having grown quite a bit since our group toured it in 2017. 

The HG Address is as always at the end of the post. 

The museum, called ISM for short, was founded just over twenty years ago in SL and moved to opensim in search of more ... space (no pun intended) for way less money. Also for the building opportunities that outperform SL every time. 

Rosa Alekseev

The trip was facilitated by Rosa Alekseev a longtime citizen of the hyperverse, Kitely resident, DJane extraordinaire, community organizer, and member of ISM. To meet us on the day was Kat Lemieux.

Kat Lemieux welcomes us all - with Max and (in the space suit) Forest 

Kat Lemieux: Ok, we can start whenever you're ready

Thirza Ember: well first of all, happy 20th anniversary, What an achievement, 20 years of inworld spaceships!

James Atlloud: yeah wow, 20!

Kat Lemieux:Thank you! I think I'm the only member of our group who has been around since the beginning,  wrote the initial proposal, and created the group. Off and on, I've been president and chairman

Thirza Ember: so this was an SL group - was that why you were in SL? to promote space builds?

Kat Lemieux: No, I actually went to SL to begin with to start a software user group, That flopped, but I liked the idea of VWs, so I hung around.

George Equus: Dangerous place... VW once hooked on a project, decades do pass

Kat Lemieux:I met a guy named Gearsawe Stonecutter (still in SL), and before long we were offered a parcel in Burning Life '05

Giggles DeClown: Burning Life related to Burning man?

Kat Lemieux: We decided to build a "derelict" space station for our exhibit. Before the festival started, we'd already been visited by several people who suggested starting a space museum. So after Burning Life was over, the person who gave us his parcel there loaned us some land to start building.  Most of this Mars base was built by Mike Lorrey and Rosa. In 20 years, we've had over 100 volunteers contribute variously in both SL & Kitely. We formed a not-for-profit corporation and eventually (2nd try) got US IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. For about a year, I stepped aside to work on a graduate degree, and Paradox Olbers served as president. Then he had to resign for health reasons, and soon after passed away. So a group asked me to come back as president. I resigned to become chairman of the corporation, and Shanna Starship took over as "interim" president -- several years ago.

Thirza Ember: Kat is there a mirror version of this build in Second Life still ?

James Atlloud: I would think this build is much bigger than it could be in SL 

Kat Lemieux: We have 2 regions in SL, but they are really crowded since most of our rocket collection is there. We're on Spaceport Alpha and Spaceport Bravo

James Atlloud: Oh that's interesting.  Congrats on having that!

Here in Kitely, the VAR region has meant huge builds can be the norm,
for example this build high in the night sky gives information about eclipses and even a dancing opportunity, which seems only fair. In space, everyone's an excellent dancer.

Kat Lemieux:We've had numerous events, including concerts and parties, and also used to have weekly lectures, although those ended some time ago

Rosa Alekseev: we meet here all sunday 6 pm pst at tower office

Kat Lemieux:Right, we hold our operations meeting here on Sunday evening. It's open to anyone who is interested, but it's mostly business about building and catching with what's going on in both grids

Thirza Ember: we came here on safari ages ago... in about 2017... at the time I didn't realize just how long the project had been going for

Kat Lemieux:Right, we first came to Kitely in 2015, I think

James Atlloud: no, me either

Rosa Alekseev: we are ever building and ever receiving volunteers to help build

Kat Lemieux: Unfortunately, we aren't able to export from SL, but we encourage our builders to save collada files (or whatever is used these days) and bring them to Kitely as well as archive them on our GitHub repo

Thirza Ember: do you find it easy to get members to have a foot in both SL and opensim? or do many just prefer to stay in SL?

Kat Lemieux: Most people seem to prefer SL, although I'm more prone to spend time in Kitely

Thirza Ember: with the rise of so many nations and non governmental space projects, you guys must have a huge surge in new spacecraft to reproduce inworld

While the spaceship collection here on Kitely may not be as complete as the one in Second Life, it is an excellent journey through the evolution of earlier vehicles and is well worth a visit.

Kat Lemieux:We do, and running out of space to put them in SL! Especially since so many new ones are huge! That's one reason I really wish we could get more builders here in Kitely, where we have plenty of room. This Mars base alone is twice the size of the entire SL museum

Thirza Ember: yeah and no upload fees,  and all kinds of other freedoms

Rosa Alekseev: From here we can see the arrival place that spaceflight go and back and the vehicle that transport all people to quarantine place, and energy power machines too. I would like to say that we had an consultor of Kat's friends  from Nasa called Green Gregory and From the director of Mars base analog located at natal Dr Julio

Kat Lemieux: Right, Greg Allison, aka Green Greg, was an engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. I've known him for about 30 years, from when I used to live there, and Rosa invited Dr. Julio from Brazil, a researcher who's involved with a Mars simulation in RL there.

Rosa Alekseev: yes we can live only down cause the radiation and air conditions here

Kat Lemieux: Yes, I'm afraid the tunnel system is pretty chaotic and unfinished. Sadly, Mike Lorrey, who built it, is not active in Kitely at the moment.

Exploring the underground tunnels is fun

Thirza Ember: oh i found the bathrooms LOL

Kat Lemieux: Right, when we get to the habitat you'll see all kinds of living spaces

Rosa Alekseev: thirza pls look the mirror mike made amazing work

James Atlloud: Oh the radar dish Rosa?

Rosa Alekseev: ah is great too but bathroom that thirza told, hehe has a special mirror

Thirza Ember: i brushed my hair in the mirror

Forest Azure: now i'm curious!

James Atlloud: me too

Forest Azure: i don't think you can brush your hair, james :)

Kat Lemieux: OK, so about this Mars settlement.  As you can tell, we've departed from our usual "only include it if it's real" policy here. But the opportunity and interest in upcoming Mars colonization plans made it a good reason to make an exception. So, Mike and Rosa, with help from a few others, have gone wild imagining what a Mars colony might look like in say, 50 years

Rosa Alekseev: Mike Lorrey did mostly:-)

Thirza Ember: Rosa you're too modest

Rosa Alexseev among the greenery under the Martian surface

Kat Lemieux: Indeed!  We've held some very interesting meetings to brainstorm what condition and solutions might be. Recently, Rosa has been doing a LOT of work here, fitting out living areas.  So let's go look now!

Kat Lemieux: So, this was the first thing we built here, based on a design by Greg Allison for a "universal habitat" that can be adapted for any planet... or moon, for that matter

Thirza Ember: ok I saw The Martian... can you confirm what kind of soil you use here?

James Atlloud: with a dance floor! perfect for safari!

Rosa Alekseev: here is the social area and place to plant, up we have the tanks of water, to fix a little radiation, and down has fish too

Kat Lemieux: The regolith (not technically soil) is used to build and do all kinds of processes. We have to import all organic matter, and treat the "soil" to be able to grow Earth-originating plants for food and other uses.

Thirza Ember: hmm yeah...'all soil has been passed by the management'

Kat Lemieux: Martian dirt, called regolith, contains many elements that are hazardous to us, and of course no organic matter. This structure is mostly built out of regolith, which is why it's orange/redThe glass dome and water "buckets" hanging from it, protect a little from radiation, since Mars doesn't have a Van Allen belt The shutters can be folded down over the dome in case of severe meteor storms or dust storms

Thirza Ember: so are James' shoes made of regolith?

James Atlloud: they could be ... only Tosha Tyran knows.

Kat Lemieux: This is multi-storied, since the lower you go, the better the protection from radiation. Let's explore downstairs. There used to be ramps or stairs here, but for some reason Mike removed them. I don't know why

James Atlloud: ha - not a problem - I have my space legs now.

Giggles DeClown: low gravity.  Just jump.

Kat Lemieux: There are empty rooms here for future development... more info in the notecard into box if u want to know

Kat Lemieux: The main info card is available in several languages. Over here is our temporary hospital Eventually that will be in its own structure, but for now it's like a small clinic. Since it's new, you need to click the box for a notecard about it, which didn't make it into the main notecard

James Atlloud: It's very spacious and comfortable.

Kat Lemieux: So, this is the main living area, with kitchen and bedrooms

Rosa Alekseev: badrooms

Sven Ingersoll: how bad can they be with bunk beds?

Kat Lemieux: ;-)  Where there's a will....

Kat Lemieux: And this atrium is a gathering place, as well as a place to raise fish

Thirza Ember: Kat do you consider this build as a way to think about the future in 3d terms... or principally as a way to help people come up with strategies, or is the aim to capture the imagination of  the public?

Kat Lemieux: Right, this is a concept piece, not meant to be literal. But it's helped us think about things like what is needed for long-term self-sufficiency. What kinds of plants to grow, what specialised rooms or spaces will be needed, What should the living quarters be like for optimal phycological health, that kind of thing.

James Atlloud: all good reasons

Kat Lemieux: Look down each cross-roads for different kinds of rooms. We'll find the showers and lavatories, then go outside\

Thirza Ember: just a wonderful build and a great story of community over a long time

James Atlloud: Only in OpenSim could this be.

 Dorena Bree: can we come back here on our own to explore?

Kat Lemieux: Come back anytime and explore, there's lots more to see!

Thirza Ember: it's a great example of how the space in opensim offers ....so many possibilities

Max Well: Thank you for the visit, it was very interesting. see you soon

eva Nowicka: me too... every time I come I like it more... it's a great job, Kat and Rosa

Rosa Alekseev: pls come to explore

Kat Lemieux: Thank you for coming! Glad you're interested!

HG Address: grid.kitely.com:8002:ISMuseum