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RICE SPACE INSTITUTE
Houston Spaceport Frontier Lectures
Becoming Martian: How Settling Space Could Change the Human Body and Mind
Scott Solomon, Ph.D.
Associate Teaching Professor
Department of Biosciences
Rice University
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Lecture: 7:00 pm
Herring Hall, Rm 100
Reception: 6:30 pm
Abstract
Efforts are already underway to create human settlements beyond Earth. If these efforts are successful, how will subsequent generations of humans by affected by life on other planets, like Mars? Studies of astronauts on the International Space Station have provided a wealth of information about the effects of spaceflight on the human body and mind. Likewise, the biological basis for adapting to new environments is well understood by the biologists that study isolated populations of plants and animals here on Earth. By combining these two fields of study we can make meaningful predictions about how each generation born on Mars will be better adapted to life on the red planet than those that came before.
SCOTT SOLOMON teaches ecology, evolutionary biology, and scientific communication as an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Biosciences at Rice University. He has a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from the University of Texas at Austin where his research examined the evolutionary basis of biological diversity in the Amazon Basin. Dr. Solomon often speaks and writes about science at schools, museums, churches, science cafés, TEDx events and other venues. He has appeared on radio broadcasts on NPR and the BBC World Service and television series such as NASA's Unexplained Files and Life 2.0. His writing and photography have appeared in publications such as NBC News, Slate, Aeon, Nautilus, and Wired and his first book, Future Humans: Inside the Science of Our Continuing Evolution was published by Yale University Press.
spacefrontiers.rice.edu
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Wayne Rast
Senior Systems Engineer SME
AIAA Houston Section, Region IV
Public Policy Chair
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