Event Title
Mapping Mars: Our Evolving Vision of the Red Planet
Description
Dr. Melissa Rice discussed the mapping, science, and exploration of Mars, once thought by scientists to be a living world covered with vegetation that changed with the seasons. The Space Age brought a new view of Mars as dry, cratered, and barren planet. In more recent decades, with mapping efforts by sophisticated spacecraft, our vision of Mars has continued to evolve into that of a complex and fascinating world.
Dr. Rice is an assistant professor of Geology at Western Washington University, where she teaches in both the Geology and the Physics and Astronomy departments. Her research focuses on the sedimentology, stratigraphy, and mineralogy of planetary surfaces, The current aim of her work is to better understand the habitability of ancient environments on Mars.
She is a collaborator on the active NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity and Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity missions. Rice received her doctorate in Astrophysics at Cornell University and was a postdoctoral scholar in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology.
This event was sponsored by Western Libraries, The Planetary Society, WWU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, and WWU’s Department of Geology.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
28-4-2015 4:00 PM
End Date
28-4-2015 5:30 PM
Location
Map Collection (Wilson Library 170)
Resource Type
MovingImage
Genre/Form
lectures
Geographic Coverage
Mars (Planet)
Subjects - Topical (LCSH)
Mars (Planet)--Geology; Mars (Planet)--Maps; Mars (Planet)--Exploration
Poster
Event poster by Simon Bakke
Language
English
Format
video/mp4
Mapping Mars: Our Evolving Vision of the Red Planet
Map Collection (Wilson Library 170)
Dr. Melissa Rice discussed the mapping, science, and exploration of Mars, once thought by scientists to be a living world covered with vegetation that changed with the seasons. The Space Age brought a new view of Mars as dry, cratered, and barren planet. In more recent decades, with mapping efforts by sophisticated spacecraft, our vision of Mars has continued to evolve into that of a complex and fascinating world.
Dr. Rice is an assistant professor of Geology at Western Washington University, where she teaches in both the Geology and the Physics and Astronomy departments. Her research focuses on the sedimentology, stratigraphy, and mineralogy of planetary surfaces, The current aim of her work is to better understand the habitability of ancient environments on Mars.
She is a collaborator on the active NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity and Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity missions. Rice received her doctorate in Astrophysics at Cornell University and was a postdoctoral scholar in the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology.
This event was sponsored by Western Libraries, The Planetary Society, WWU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, and WWU’s Department of Geology.
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