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CANCELLED: The Rosalind Franklin Rover's mission: looking for life on Mars

24 March 2020, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm

Mars rover

We discuss current and future missions to Mars, including ESA’s ExoMars 2020 rover, named Rosalind Franklin after the DNA pioneer.

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

Emma Hart

Location

Darwin Lecture Theatre
Darwin Building
Gower St
London
WC1E 6BT
United Kingdom

Register to attend
About the lecture:
Mars is our closest target in the search for life beyond Earth, and has changed since its formation 4.6 billion years ago. 3.8 billion years ago, Mars had volcanism, a magnetic field, surface water and a thick atmosphere – at a time when life was starting on Earth. Mars now is cold and dry, with a thin carbon dioxide-atmosphere, and a harsh surface unprotected by a global magnetic field. Using results from recent missions, we look at the prospects for life. We discuss current and future missions to Mars, including ESA’s ExoMars 2020 rover, named Rosalind Franklin after the DNA pioneer.

About the Speaker

Professor Andrew Coates

Principal Investigator for the PanCam instrument on the Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars 2020) rover at UCL

Professor Andrew Coates is Principal Investigator for the PanCam instrument on the Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars 2020) rover. He gained a BSc in Physics from UMIST and MSc and D.Phil. from Oxford University. He has been at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) since 1982, with temporary guest positions in Germany, USA and at the BBC World service. He is Deputy Director (solar system) at UCL-MSSL. As well as ExoMars he has worked on many space missions including Cassini, where he leads the electron spectrometer team (part of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer), Venus Express, Mars Express and Giotto.