Exploring Mars

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)is the world's largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession.  In 1998 the Sydney Section became the first AIAA Section outside of the USA and encompasses all AIAA members in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.  The Sydney Section welcomes new members - both students and professionals. To find out more aboutupcoming Section activitiesand the benefits of AIAA membership visithttp://www.aiaasydneysection.org

AIAA Sydney Section

Hear about how NASA uses robotic explorers to learn more about Mars and whether life could ever have existed there

<h3>Synopsis:</h3><p><strong>Exploring Mars</strong></p><p>A large part of what NASA does is to explore, to learn more out our planet, our solar system and beyond. One particular goal in this exploration is the search for life. Is there life on other worlds, was there ever life on other worlds, are there conditions that could support life in the future – maybe human life? Answering any one of these questions would be a hallmark achievement for humanity. But they are hard questions to solve, especially when we need to make detailed measurements on other worlds! In this talk we look at Mars in particular, and how NASA uses robotic explorers to learn more about the planet and gradually build up more and more understanding on whether life could ever have existed there. </p>

<h3>Speaker Profile:</h3><p><strong>Dr Benjamin Morrell, NASA JPL</strong></p><p>Benjamin Morrell is a Robotics Engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where his job is to develop technologies for future space robots. In particular, a lot of his work is focused on helping robots know where they are and what is around them, so they can complete their missions. Ben works on many different robots, including flying robots, driving robots and robots that explore underground. He is currently the deputy lead for the JPL team that is creating teams of robots that explore caves. This project includes field tests in Martian analogue caves on Earth (caves that are similar to what we expect on Mars), and developing a team of robots to compete in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge, an international robotics competition. </p><p>Ben’s pathway to JPL started at school in rural Australia, included a Bachelors of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Sydney, and then a PhD in robotics at the University of Sydney. Ben did an internship at JPL while completing his PhD, before starting as a Post-Doctoral Researcher, then getting hired as a robotics engineer. </p><p>In addition to his technical work, Ben loves sharing what NASA does through talks and presentations, and whatever he can to help inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists. </p><p></p>

<h3>About AIAA Sydney Section: </h3><h3></h3><p>In February 1998, the Sydney Section, Australia, was chartered as the first AIAA Section outside of the USA. The Section encompasses all AIAA members in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and the Section Council is currently based in Canberra, ACT.</p><p>The Sydney Section welcomes new members - both students and professionals. To find out more about the benefits of AIAA membership, or to join online, <a href="https://www.aiaa.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">visit www.aiaa.org.</a> Please view the section website <a href="http://aiaasydneysection.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">http://aiaasydneysection.org/</a> </p><p><strong>We want to hear from you!</strong></p><p>Please don't hesitate to contact the Section Council if you have any ideas on how we can deliver even better value to our members.</p>

Exploring Mars

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Exploring Mars

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