Image by: Seth Shostak

A Martian Curiosity

From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Length: 54:14

The hard part is over: we landed on Mars (again!). Let the science begin. Here’s the latest in the hunt for evidence of life off Earth, and one man’s plan to set up a Martian colony. A show for the Curiosity-minded. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

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Promos

Playing: A Martian Curiosity
From: Big Picture Science

Martiancuriositymed_small

We dig the Red Planet! And so does Curiosity. After a successful landing, and a round of high-fives at NASA, the latest rover to land on Mars is on the move, shovel in mechanical hand.

Discover how the Mars Science Laboratory will hunt for the building blocks of life, and just what the heck a lipid is. Plus, how to distinguish Martians from Earthlings, and the tricks Mars has played on us in the past (canals, anyone?).

Also, want to visit Mars firsthand? We can point you to the sign-up sheet for a manned mission. The catch: the ticket is one-way.

Guests:

John Grotzinger – Geologist, California Institute of Technology, and project scientist, NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission
Jennifer Heldmann – Research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center
David Blake – Principal Investigator of CheMin, a mineralogical instrument that is included in the analytical laboratory of the Mars Science Laboratory mission
Rachel Harris – Astrobiology student at the NASAAstrobiology Institute
Stuart Schlisserman – Physician in Palo Alto, California
Felisa Wolfe-Simon – NASA astrobiology research fellow, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs
Bas Lansdorp – Founder, Mars One

Playing: A Martian Curiosity
From: Big Picture Science

Martiancuriositymed_small

We dig the Red Planet! And so does Curiosity. After a successful landing, and a round of high-fives at NASA, the latest rover to land on Mars is on the move, shovel in mechanical hand.

Discover how the Mars Science Laboratory will hunt for the building blocks of life, and just what the heck a lipid is. Plus, how to distinguish Martians from Earthlings, and the tricks Mars has played on us in the past (canals, anyone?).

Also, want to visit Mars firsthand? We can point you to the sign-up sheet for a manned mission. The catch: the ticket is one-way.

Guests:

John Grotzinger – Geologist, California Institute of Technology, and project scientist, NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission
Jennifer Heldmann – Research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center
David Blake – Principal Investigator of CheMin, a mineralogical instrument that is included in the analytical laboratory of the Mars Science Laboratory mission
Rachel Harris – Astrobiology student at the NASAAstrobiology Institute
Stuart Schlisserman – Physician in Palo Alto, California
Felisa Wolfe-Simon – NASA astrobiology research fellow, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs
Bas Lansdorp – Founder, Mars One

Playing: A Martian Curiosity
From: Big Picture Science

Martiancuriositymed_small

We dig the Red Planet! And so does Curiosity. After a successful landing, and a round of high-fives at NASA, the latest rover to land on Mars is on the move, shovel in mechanical hand.

Discover how the Mars Science Laboratory will hunt for the building blocks of life, and just what the heck a lipid is. Plus, how to distinguish Martians from Earthlings, and the tricks Mars has played on us in the past (canals, anyone?).

Also, want to visit Mars firsthand? We can point you to the sign-up sheet for a manned mission. The catch: the ticket is one-way.

Guests:

John Grotzinger – Geologist, California Institute of Technology, and project scientist, NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission
Jennifer Heldmann – Research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center
David Blake – Principal Investigator of CheMin, a mineralogical instrument that is included in the analytical laboratory of the Mars Science Laboratory mission
Rachel Harris – Astrobiology student at the NASAAstrobiology Institute
Stuart Schlisserman – Physician in Palo Alto, California
Felisa Wolfe-Simon – NASA astrobiology research fellow, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs
Bas Lansdorp – Founder, Mars One

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Piece Description

We dig the Red Planet! And so does Curiosity. After a successful landing, and a round of high-fives at NASA, the latest rover to land on Mars is on the move, shovel in mechanical hand.

Discover how the Mars Science Laboratory will hunt for the building blocks of life, and just what the heck a lipid is. Plus, how to distinguish Martians from Earthlings, and the tricks Mars has played on us in the past (canals, anyone?).

Also, want to visit Mars firsthand? We can point you to the sign-up sheet for a manned mission. The catch: the ticket is one-way.

Guests:

John Grotzinger – Geologist, California Institute of Technology, and project scientist, NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission
Jennifer Heldmann – Research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center
David Blake – Principal Investigator of CheMin, a mineralogical instrument that is included in the analytical laboratory of the Mars Science Laboratory mission
Rachel Harris – Astrobiology student at the NASAAstrobiology Institute
Stuart Schlisserman – Physician in Palo Alto, California
Felisa Wolfe-Simon – NASA astrobiology research fellow, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs
Bas Lansdorp – Founder, Mars One

Broadcast History

New episode.

Additional Files

Listing - A Martian Curiosity (A_Martian_Curiosity.docx)

Additional Credits

Seth Shostak – Host and Producer
Molly Bentley – Co-Host and Executive Producer
Gary Niederhoff – Producer
Barbara Vance – Production Assistant
Jay Weiler – Volunteer