The Present and Future of Martian Exploration - Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion Feb. 23, 2021
Interviews with Martian geologist Dr. Kirsten Siebach and Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi, talking about the present and future of Mars exploration.
Hello everyone!
This week, continuing our fortnight of Mars, we have a pair of special guests, offering us a look at both the present, as well as the future, of Martian exploration. First, we welcome Martian geologist Dr. Kirstin Siebach back to the show. She will give us a first-person look at how the Perseverance rover will explore the landscape of Mars. We also talk with 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.
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 thrive – within Martian soil. Finally, we will journey out to the TOI 451 star system, where three newly-discovered planets await our watchful gaze.
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Join us next week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, when we will talk with Dr. Elisabeth Newton, astronomer at Dartmouth College, who just discovered three new worlds around the dwarf star TOI 451. And, on March 16th, we will be joined by the world's best-known astrophysicist, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson.
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Thanks for watching, listening, and sharing!
James