The Astronomical Society of Greenwich will present Dr. Jennifer C. Stern in “Mission Possible: The Path to Human Exploration of Mars?” Sunday, Nov. 20 at 3:30 p.m.
Stern will discuss what scientists have learned so far from robotic and orbital missions to Mars, and what it will take to achieve successful human exploration of the Planet, including the challenges of keeping humans alive on the way to Mars, and living on its surface.
Stern is a Planetary Geochemist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., specializing in the study of the atmosphere and surface of Mars, and instrument development for geochemical measurements on a variety of planetary surfaces. She designed, manages, and operates the stable isotope facility in the Planetary Environments Laboratory at Goddard; she also develops techniques for in situ field measurements of trace gases of biological interest. Dr. Stern is a member of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover team and the Sample Analysis at Mars team focusing on using mass spectrometry for isotopic measurements and detection of nitrogen compounds. Stern has a BA in Geology-Biology from Brown University and a PhD in Geochemistry from Florida State University.
Lectures are at the Bruce Museum and are open to the public. Admission is free to museum members and ticket holders; others by donation to the museum. For more information, visit astrogreenwich.org.
