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Dr. Joel S. Levine - William & Mary Applied Science, Title of Talk: The Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars: A Preview

Zoom Link available upon request. Please email Ellie at [[evwilk]].

The United States is planning a human mission to Mars. To achieve this goal, NASA has built a very powerful new multi-stage rocket, called the Space Launch System (SLS) and a new human capsule, called Orion, which will sit atop the SLS. As early as 2024, humans will return to the Moon, this time for an extended stay to prepare for the human exploration of Mars. Astronauts will explore Mars to address a series of very important scientific questions, including: Is there life on Mars today or in the past? Why did early Mars evolve from an Earth-like planet with abundant liquid water on its surface in the form of large oceans (up to several miles deep), rivers and lakes and a thick atmosphere to the Mars of today, devoid of liquid water with a very thin atmosphere? The human exploration of the Moon and Mars: how, why and when, will be covered.

Joel S. Levine Levine retired from NASA after a 41-year career as Senior Research Scientist, Science Directorate, NASA Langley Research Center and Mars Scout Program Scientist, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters. He is a consultant to the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). His teaching career at William & Mary began in 1990 as Adjunct Professor and head of the atmospheric and planetary science track in the Applied Science Program. He co-chaired NASA’s panel on Human Exploration of Mars: Science Analysis Group (HEM-SAG) and edited The Human Mission to Mars: Colonizing the Red Planet (2010), Dust in Atmosphere of Mars and Its Impact on Human Exploration (2018) and The Impact of Lunar Dust on Human Exploration (2021).

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