An upcoming event in Washington DC with a live webcast :
[There will be a] special panel debate called “Is It Time to Search for Life on Mars?” This panel will take place at American University on July 31, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. EDT and will be preceded by a reception at 5:00 p.m. This event is being co-sponsored by Explore Mars, Inc. and American University and will feature a stimulating discussion on whether life has been detected on Mars and what we will need to do to confirm the existence of past or present life on the red planet.
Participants will include:
- Moderator: Rebecca Keiser (American University, Executive-in-residence at the School of Public Affairs; NASA)
- Dr. Gil Levin (Arizona State University; Principal Investigator, Labeled Release experiment, Mars Viking Lander mission)
- Dr. Chris McKay (Planetary Scientist, NASA Ames)
- Dr. Pamela Conrad (NASA: Deputy Principal Investigator, SAM investigation, Mars Science Laboratory; Research Space Scientist)
- Dr. Chris Carr (Research Scientist, MIT).
Rebecca Keiser, executive-in-residence at the School of Public Affairs, said the investigation into whether life exists on Mars is important for the development of space policies that contribute to understanding the universe. Kaiser and Howard McCurdy, professor of public administration and policy at the School of Public Affairs, are setting up a research group at American University on space policy analysis.
The session will be followed by special announcements regarding Explore Mars’ project, EXOLANCE, which will build and test an innovative method of searching for life from the surface to a considerable depth below the surface where life may be better shielded from the harsh radiation hitting the surface. EXOLANCE was first previewed at the April 2014 Humans to Mars Summit conference at The George Washington University. The July 31st presentation will be led by Joe Cassady (Aerojet Rocketdyne; Explore Mars board member).
“The search for life is one of the primary reasons why we explore Mars,” commented Explore Mars Executive Director, Chris Carberry. “Whether we have detected indicators of life yet on Mars or not, Mars provides us with an environment that may be suitable for life.”