109: Mars Perseverance Rover with Dr. Tanya Harrison and Dr. Graham Lau

Will we find life on Mars?

On Thursday, February 18, 2021, the Mars Perseverance rover will land at the site of an ancient river delta in a lake that was once filled known as Jezero Crater. The rover will spend at least one Mars year (two Earth years) searching for signs of ancient life!

What happens when the Mars Perseverance rover lands on Mars this Thursday?

What is EDL and why does it make for such a stressful moment?

What are some of the differences with this rover "Percey," vs. Curiosity?

What is a sky crane? How will it work?

The specific location where Percy is intending to land is important and significant. Why?

Answers to these questions and more, on this BONUS episode of Casual Space with Dr. Tanya Harrison, and Dr. Graham Lau. Tanya is a respected Mars expert who worked as a geoscientist and mission operations specialist on multiple NASA Mars missions over the past 13 years, including the Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance rovers, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Dr. Tanya is a respected thought leader in the commercial space sector and has served as Director of Research for Arizona State University's NewSpace Initiative. Currently, Tanya works as the Director of Science Strategy for the federal arm of the Earth observing satellite company Planet Labs. Tanya holds a Ph.D. in Geology with a Specialization in Planetary Science and Exploration from the University of Western Ontario.

Dr. Graham Lau is an astrobiologist and communicator of science, and many people know him online as "The Cosmobiologist." Dr. Graham Lau also serves as the Director of Communications and Marketing for Blue Marble Space, a Research Scientist with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, the Director of Logistics for the University Rover Challenge, and the host of the NASA Astrobiology and SAGANet show "Ask an Astrobiologist".

To learn more about Dr. Tanya and her work: https://www.tanyaharrison.com/

To learn more about Dr. Lau and his work: https://cosmobiota.com/

This will be the very first attempt of a sample return from Mars! To learn more about this very long and complicated process, check out: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/mars-sample-return-msr

To learn more about Mars Perseverance Rover: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/timeline/landing/

And don't miss this LANDING TOOLKIT: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

Curiosity is STILL exploring Mars! Check out the continued activity at: https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/home/

And, JOIN THE LIVE WATCH PARTY AT https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/timeline/landing/watch-online/

Watch with Tanya at WeMartians: https://www.wemartians.com/

Watch with Dr. Graham Lau and Beth Mund at Explore Mars: https://www.exploremars.org/