The Cosmic Companion VIP Newsletter - Fatima Ebrahimi and Kirsten Siebach - February 22, 2021

Sneak preview: Mars exploration present and future with Martian geologist Dr.Kirsten Siebach and plasma physicist Dr.Fatima Ebrahimi

Hello everyone:

Our VIP subscribers have a special treat this week, as we continue our fortnight of Mars with a look at the present and future of Martian exploration. We welcome a pair of special guests to the show. First, we talk with Martian geologist Dr. Kirstin Siebach back to the show. She is one of the people who will be driving NASA’s Perseverance rover around the landscape of Mars. We will also hear from Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. We will discuss her work designing a new plasma engine capable of bringing spacecraft and people to Mars and beyond.

This first image taken by Perseverance on the surface of Mars confirmed NASA’s newest mission to explore the Red Planet is ready to roll! Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

But first, we take a look at the arrival of NASA's Perseverance rover at Mars. This is the third mission to arrive at the Red Planet in the last two weeks. We also look at a new study showing microbes are able to survive – and thriv…