Since Curiosity’s findings won’t be published immediately, NASA will hold a live discussion on the subject
It’s been almost six years since Curiosity first set foot on Mars and, so far, it has collected plenty of valuable scientific information. Now, NASA has decided to share a new series of findings made by the rover. Four of its experts will host a live discussion where they will present these findings and answer different related questions. This discussion will be livestreamed on June 7th.
The live discussion will be about Curiosity’s latest findings
NASA launched Curiosity on November 2011 and it landed in August 2012 in the Gale Crater. At first, NASA intended the mission to last for only two years. However, several months after it reached Mars, it got extended for an indefinite period. So far, Curiosity has spent 2,126 Earth days on Mars, and 2,070 sols (solar days as experienced on Mars).
Now, Curiosity made some new discoveries about Mars. Since a study on the matter couldn’t be published until June 7th, NASA decided to host a live discussion on the subject. The director of communications for the Planetary Science Division, Michelle Taller, will mediate the discussion.
The experts might give us hints on the nature of the discoveries
All the four experts that will be part of the live discussion are all members of the Mars Science Laboratory. They are Chris Webster, Ashwin Vasavada, Jen Eigenbrode, and Paul Mahaffy. Since NASA hasn’t revealed what the news is about, the name of the experts might give us valuable hints.
Mahaffy, for instance, is a planetary scientist that has specialized in atmosphere composition. On the other hand, Eigenbrode can study the composition of rocks by using a process called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Vasavada uses the history of climate on Mars and the properties of its surface to study the Martian geology. In the end, Webster is an expert in the habitability of Mars, but also in the chemical processes occurring there.
We don’t have much to wait until we can watch the live discussion on the latest findings of Curiosity. Even if we cannot make out the findings beforehand, we can still start making suppositions on what they are about.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
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