We now live in the golden age of solar system exploration. With a dozen NASA missions currently in development — as well as spacecraft actively on Mars, near Jupiter, and in the Kuiper belt — the current scale of mission activity is unprecedented and brings forth a new era of comparative study of varied worlds at the systems level.
Historically, there has been a close kinship between earth science and planetary science stemming from the recognition that habitability is a special characteristic of Earth and should be cherished. In fact, famed climate scientist Jim Hansen became engaged in understanding the Earth's greenhouse after having studied the Venus atmosphere. Given the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute's (EESI) history of understanding the Earth as a system, the spring 2023 EarthTalks speaker series is intended to provide a venue for the expansion of participant’s horizons into our solar system.
The series will also operate as the undergraduate course, Earth 400, which is required for students in the earth science and policy major. For this reason, some portion of each talk will address space science careers and outer space policy.
The series is scheduled to take place in 112 Walker building from 4:00 – 5:15 p.m.