04 Sep Searching for Life in our Universe

Image Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Dr Jakob van Zyl the associate director of Project Formulation and Strategy at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California gave a public presentation on 16 July 2012. His presentation titled “Are We Alone? The Search for Signs of Life in the Solar System and Beyond”, had the audience captivated from the start by illustrating the vastness of our solar system and the greater universe. Dr van Zyl explained some of the remarkable technology used to try and understand our universe, including satellites, space telescopes, space probes and Mars-Landers.

Despite all this technological wizardry, we are still limited in the resources that we can bring to bear on this vast subject. He wrapped up his presentation with a riveting account on the history of the Mars-Landers including their most recent project, the Mars Curiosity rover.

To follow this amazing project, please see http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/