Mars Week 2025 Panel Event: Missions to Mars!

In association with National Mars Week, the UCL-Birkbeck ‘Your Universe’ Festival of Astronomy and Planetary Science presents:

Missions to Mars: Current and Future Exploration of the Red Planet

In this panel event, our experts will highlight some of the current and future missions to Mars including the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover, Perseverance and the sample return mission, Mars Express, and the MMX sample return mission to the moons of Mars. After the presentations there will be a Q&A session to delve deeper into discussions about exploration of our neighbouring Red Planet. How do ‘robots’ assist us exploring Mars? Are human missions inevitable? Will we find evidence for life?

Join us in-person at UCL to listen, learn and put your own questions to our experts.

Introducing our panel…
 

Professor Andrew Coates

Andrew Coates is Deputy Director (Solar System) and Professor of Physics at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL). He gained a BSc in Physics from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), and an MSc and DPhil in plasma physics from Oxford University. Andrew’s space mission involvements include the Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars) rover where he leads the PanCam team; Perseverance where he is a co-investigator on Mastcam-Z; Cassini, where he leads the electron spectrometer team (part of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer); Venus Express, Mars Express, Beagle 2 and Giotto. His scientific interests include the solar wind interaction with planets and comets, planetary surfaces and space instrumentation. Andrew is also very active in space and science outreach. 

Rebecca Warrilow

Rebecca Warrilow is a PhD student currently investigating climate change on Mars by analysing ancient river features and reconstructing the in-channel processes active billions of years ago. Her research at MSSL focuses on understanding the evolution of Mars’ surface and assessing its potential habitability in the past. Rebecca’s work primarily relies on data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft. Beyond her research, Rebecca is active in science outreach through the Orbyts project, where she successfully led a student collaboration to enhance palaeohydrological reconstructions of the Eberswalde delta on Mars.

Dr Keyron Hickman-Lewis

Keyron Hickman-Lewis is an Earth Scientist and Lecturer in Planetary Exploration at the School of Natural Sciences at Birkbeck, University of London. He is interested in the early history of life and the co-evolution of planets and life, with particular interests in the application of advanced analytical techniques to major questions in microbial palaeontology, biogeochemistry, early surface environments and ecosystems, the search for life on Mars, and Mars Sample Return. Keyron is also interested in the development and application of novel analytical techniques for determining the biogenicity and metabolic affinities of Precambrian fossils.

Dr Roger Stabbins

Roger Stabbins is a UK Space Agency Aurora post-doctoral researcher in the Planetary Surfaces Group at the Natural History Museum, London.  His research focuses on maximising the science return of multispectral and stereo imaging systems for planetary surface exploration, through modelling, simulations, and laboratory and field experiments. Roger is a science team member of the multispectral imaging systems for two planned planetary missions: PanCam for the ESA ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover mission, and OROCHI for the JAXA Martian Moons Exploration mission, and one current planetary mission: CaSSIS onboard the ESA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.  

Our host:

Dr Francisco Diego

Francisco Diego is a Senior Research Fellow and lecturer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UCL. He was born in Mexico City, where he earned a BSc in Mechanical Engineering. His career in Astronomy started at the Sociedad Astronomica de Mexico and the Planetario Luis E. Erro. He worked for several years at the Instituto de Astronomia, UNAM and then came to University College London where he earned a PhD in Astronomy. Francisco is a keen populariser of natural sciences and extensive experience as a planetarium producer/presenter, lecturer, author and broadcaster, as well as the founder and director of the annual UCL Your Universe Festival of Astronomy and Planetary Science.

Image credits:

Feature image: Mars Globe - ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/G. Michael; ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover still - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Rover mast head - Jason Major/ MSSS/JPL-Caltech/NASA; Mars Express satellite- ESA 2001, illustration by Medialab; MMX satellite - JAXA/NASA; Phobos - NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.

Links

• Your Universe Festival website
• UCL Spotlight article: Professor Andrew Coates 
• Rebecca Warrilow’s academic profile
• Dr Keyron Hickman-Lewis’ academic profile 
• Dr Roger Stabbins’ website
• UCL Spotlight article: Dr Francisco Diego

Event summary

Title: Missions to Mars: Current and future exploration of the Red Planet
Type: Panel event, forming part of Mars Week 2025 and the UCL-Birkbeck Your Universe Festival, with short talks by experts and Q&A with the audience. 
Date: Saturday 8th March 2024
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Format: In person
Location: UCL

Mars Day / Week 2025

The ‘Missions to Mars’ panel event at UCL, is one of various events taking place as part of Mars Day and Week 2024.

• Register now for Mars Day/Week 2025 to hear more about other events

Book Book FREE public events taking place 6th-8th March
Mars Week/Your Universe Festival of Astronomy and Planetary Science

Planetary Science MSc

Link

The MSc programme in Planetary Science has a curriculum which is drawn from a variety of academic departments within UCL, including Physics and Astronomy, Space and Climate Physics, Earth Sciences, and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Birkbeck College. This programme is offered as a 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time course.

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