Following the successful NASA Artemis 1 mission launch to the Moon on 16th November 2022, amid a flurry of other lunar missions, the subject of ‘Why Return to the Moon?’ has never been so topical.
The second in our series of *free* public engagement events ‘Adventures in Planetary Science’, will address this question with talks from a number of lunar science experts, and a chance to put your questions to the panel at the Q&A session following the presentations.
This will be a virtual event held online with Zoom.
Don’t miss out! Register for your free tickets on Eventbrite via the ‘Book now’ button above.
Talks
- Louise Alexander (RAS) - An Introduction to the Moon
- Giulia Magnarini (NHM) - A journey across the lunar landscape
- Siân Cleaver (Airbus) - The Artemis Missions
- Ian Crawford (Birkbeck) - Future exploration: The case for a lunar base
Event host and chair: Andrew Rushby (Birkbeck)
Introducing our speakers…
Louise Alexander is based at the Royal Astronomical Society where she is an assistant editor for Geophysical Journal International (GJI). She has a strong background in lunar research having completed her PhD at Birkbeck where her research was focussed on samples from the Apollo 12 mission and what they can tell us about the Moon. Although no longer an active researcher, Louise is still interested in the Moon and meteorites and is often involved in outreach activities through the Royal Astronomical Society. She has given presentations to both local societies and schools and also at various events around the country.
Siân Cleaver is the Industrial Manager for the Orion European Service Module (ESM) programme at Airbus Defence and Space in Bremen, Germany. She grew up in the UK and has Masters in Physics and Astronomy from Durham University. After graduating, Siân started her working career as a Spacecraft Engineer at Airbus in Stevenage where she was involved with various ESA science and exploration missions. Four years ago, Siân transferred to Airbus in Bremen, driven by her lifelong dream to work on human spaceflight missions. Airbus Bremen is the Prime Contractor for the Orion European Service Module, which is part of the NASA Artemis programme. Siân is responsible for ensuring the timely delivery of all equipment needed to integrate and test the ESMs currently in production at the Airbus facility in Bremen. In her spare time, Siân is passionate about inspiring the next generation, particularly young women, to pursue careers in STEM. She is a former Chair of the Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) Young Professionals Board and most recently was involved with the ‘Bedtime Stories for Very Young Engineers’ project on YouTube.
Ian Crawford is Professor of Planetary Science and Astrobiology at Birkbeck, University of London. His research activities mostly lie in the fields of planetary science, especially lunar science and exploration, and astrobiology, the search for life in the Universe. He has long had an interest in the future of space exploration and is convinced that space exploration and development will prove to be of central importance for the future of humanity. He is the author of over 200 peer-reviewed research papers in the fields of astronomy, planetary science, astrobiology and space exploration. In 2021, Ian was awarded the Royal Astronomical Society’s Service Award for Geophysics; the citation refers to his long-standing promotion of lunar science and human space exploration, his role as a mentor for young planetary scientists, and other contributions to the planetary science community.
Giulia Magnarini is a postdoctoral researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, where she works on recent and active surface processes on the Moon. Her current research concerns lunar slope deformation processes and their link with recent tectonism, and new impact crater formation. She also continues studying long runout landslides on Earth and Mars, the topic of her PhD at UCL, for which she combines remote sensing techniques, field work, and laboratory experiments. Giulia is involved with the NASA Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) program, studying a recently opened Apollo 17 sample that was collected from a lunar landslide deposit.
Andrew Rushby is a Lecturer in Astrobiology at Birkbeck/UCL CPS. Andrew’s interest in the climates of newly discovered exoplanets, particularly small and rocky worlds, started during graduate studies at the University of East Anglia, which was followed by postdoctoral fellowships at NASA Ames Research Center and the University of California, Irvine. Andrew has joined Birkbeck/UCL CPS to continue his research into the habitability of small planets outside of our Solar System, and to develop a new postgraduate degree in Astrobiology, launching in October 2023, which will be one of the first of its kind in the UK. Andrew is also a passionate science communicator. He co-hosts the Exocast podcast, which discusses all things related to exoplanetary science and astrobiology.
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