Sept. 7 event: “My 50 Years Exploring Mars: From the Viking Landers to the Perseverance Rover”

In this public lecture, Raymond E. Arvidson, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Washington University in St. Louis, will share highlights and reflections gleaned from a half century of investigating the red planet. 

Wednesday, September 7, 2022: The talk will begin at 7 p.m. CDT and will be livestreamed.

My 50 Years Exploring Mars: From the Viking Landers to the Perseverance Rover

During the summer of 1969, the Mariner 6 and 7 spacecraft flew past Mars while imaging the atmosphere and surface. This was the beginning of unveiling the red planet’s fascinating history of changing from an early warm, wet climate to today’s cold, dry, forbidding environment. During my 50 year career I have been fortunate to witness and participate in many of the exciting discoveries about the red planet derived from both orbiting and landed robotic missions. The evidence overwhelmingly points to an ancient Mars replete standing bodies of water as lakes and seas fed by river systems. Volcanoes populated the landscape, with magma interacting with ground water to produce massive steam-powered explosions. During my presentation I will lead you through how we plan and implement robotic missions to Mars, highlighted by a number of “behind the scenes” personal narratives. I will also give you a crash course on how we drive “Cars on Mars” (i.e., the rovers), but I will keep the keys safely locked in my office. Finally, I will cover how we think Mars went from a warm, wet environment to today’s dry, cold, inhospitable climate, together with implications for Martian life, and how studying Mars helps us better understand how to be better stewards of our own planet.