NASA’s Mars missions – the past, Perseverance, the future

Mars Day 2021 is an exciting free new virtual event adventure for everyone, organised by the UK Space Education Office (ESERO-UK), STEM Learning and the UK Space Agency. Take a look at the Mars Day website for more information: https://marsday.org.uk/

 

As the former Director of the agency’s Planetary Science Division, Dr Green has had his hands in every significant NASA space mission since 1980, including the current Perseverance mission.

We are honoured to have guest Dr. Jim Green talk about his decades of experience at NASA, the incredible missions he has led and how Mars 2020 holds great promise for identifying evidence of past life on Mars.

 

Follow the below links to find out more and book more Mars Day 2021 sessions with our other guest speakers and stars. You can also check out the full schedule on our website : https://marsday.org.uk/schedule/

9.30 – 9.55

PERSEVERANCE, INGENUITY AND SCIENCE UNDER PRESSURE

Tim Peake, the first British ESA astronaut, will be talking to Dallas Campbell about missions to Mars, the challenges of flying helicopters on another planet and piloting a rover whilst in space.

10.15 – 10.55

UK SPACE AGENCY MISSIONS AND PROGRAMMES

Hear how the UK’s thriving space industry is involved in Mars missions, works with other spacefaring nations and has a unique STEM initiative to inspire young people – the One Million Interactions programme.

10:15 – 11:15

SCHOOL SESSION FOR AGES 15+ – Our future on Mars?

What are we doing to prepare for a future on Mars? Learn about missions to Mars that are pushing humans beyond the Moon.

10.30 – 11.00

FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS – ROBOKIDS ACTIVITY

RoboKids takes you on a fun and inspiring journey into the future of space, programming and robots. An educational show for children aged 4-11.

11.30 – 12.10

SCIENCE IN SPACE

Join a panel of STEM Ambassadors working in (the) space (industry) whose adventures began by studying science subjects. Session Patron is Dr Suzie Imber, a space plasma physicist, a high altitude mountaineer, an explorer, and maybe one day, an astronaut!

12.15 – 12.55

TECHNOLOGY IN SPACE

Hear how this panel of STEM Ambassadors launched into the world of space technology! Dr Jackie Bell is this session’s Patron, a previous researcher in quantum chromodynamics, trainee astronaut and from Imperial College London’s Department of Computing.

13.00 – 13.40

ENGINEERING IN SPACE

This sessions’ Patron, John Chinner from Airbus, is joined by a panel of STEM Ambassadors who work in space exploration having studied engineering. Their missions include Rosetta, the Solar Orbiter and the ExoMars rover launching in 2022 to Mars.

13.45 – 14.25

MATHS IN SPACE

This panel of UK STEM Ambassadors cover how studying maths launches you into the space industry and beyond! Session Patron, Áine O’Brien, studies Planetary Science & Astrobiology and is part of the ExoMars outreach project, Roving with Rosalind.

13.45 – 14.45

SCHOOL SESSION FOR AGES 11-14 – VISIT OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND!

Let the Royal Observatory take you and your students on an amazing journey to explore the wonders of the night sky in their virtual planetarium show.

15.00 – 15.45

NASA’S MARS MISSIONS – THE PAST, PERSEVERANCE, THE FUTURE

Dr Jim Green, NASA’s Chief Scientist, talks about his decades of experience at NASA; the incredible missions he has led as former Director of the agency’s Planetary Science Division; how Mars 2020 holds great promise for identifying evidence of past life on Mars.

16.15 – 17.00

FROM THE MOON TO MARS – YOUR PLACE IN SPACE

Humankind is ready to return to the Moon and go on to Mars. Dr Aldrin will discuss how the democratization of space is making missions accessible to start-ups, independent companies and even schools! Plus, hear about his experience of seeing Buzz Aldrin, his dad, on the Moon!

18.30 – 19:15

DRIVING ON MARS WITH CURIOSITY AND PERSEVERANCE

Hear from Sophia Mitchell, Lead Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and driver of the Mars Curiosity rover since 2018. With NASA’s Perseverance rover at the Jezero Crater, Sophia’s mission now is to drive the Perseverance rover! How cool is that?

Information for teachers

You can access further space themed resources and professional development through the ESERO-UK website: https://www.stem.org.uk/esero/

Information for STEM Ambassadors

If you are a STEM Ambassador working in the space industry and you would like to get involved with the One Million Interactions Programme our can find out more on the ESERO-UK website: https://www.stem.org.uk/esero/inspiring-next-generation

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