Exploring Mars

About the Event

Synopsis:

A large part of what NASA does is to explore, to learn more out our planet, our solar system and beyond. One particular goal in this exploration is the search for life. Is there life on other worlds, was there ever life on other worlds, are there conditions that could support life in the future – maybe human life? Answering any one of these questions would be a hallmark achievement for humanity. But they are hard questions to solve, especially when we need to make detailed measurements on other worlds! In this talk we look at Mars in particular, and how NASA uses robotic explorers to learn more about the planet and gradually build up more and more understanding on whether life could ever have existed there.



Speaker:
Dr Benjamin Morrell
Robotics Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Benjamin Morrell is a Robotics Engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where his job is to develop technologies for future space robots. In particular, a lot of his work is focused on helping robots know where they are and what is around them, so they can complete their missions. Ben works on many different robots, including flying robots, driving robots and robots that explore underground. He is currently the deputy lead for the JPL team that is creating teams of robots that explore caves. This project includes field tests in Martian analogue caves on Earth (caves that are similar to what we expect on Mars), and developing a team of robots to compete in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge, an international robotics competition.

Ben’s pathway to JPL started at school in rural Australia, included a Bachelors of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Sydney, and then a PhD in robotics at the University of Sydney. Ben did an internship at JPL while completing his PhD, before starting as a Post-Doctoral Researcher, then getting hired as a robotics engineer.

In addition to his technical work, Ben loves sharing what NASA does through talks and presentations, and whatever he can to help inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists.



Event Details:
Format: Online
Date: 16th November 2021
Time: 12:00pm AEDT (Sydney)

Location

Online Instructions:
Url: http://16nov-aiaasydneysection.eventbrite.com.au
Login: Tickets will be available through Eventbrite shortly and the meeting details sent out to ticket holders prior to the event.
Event Image
When:  Nov 16, 2021 from 12:00 to 13:00 (ET)
Associated with  Sydney Section