Public Lecture: “A Human Expedition to Mars”

How close are we to sending humans to Mars? Human exploration of the red planet has been seriously discussed since the 1940s, but no mission concept has gone beyond the planning stage.  Why not? This talk will consider the latest information from science and technology to assess what challenges remain. The advent of NASA’s Space Launch System and the SpaceX Starship open the possibility that there may soon be rockets that are up to the task of transporting humans in interplanetary space. Add to this the ever-increasing knowledge about the space and Martian environments from robotic missions that can inform credible mission designs, and the work underway on technologies to make practical use of Mars resources. NASA is now developing a robotic mission to return samples of Martian rocks, dirt, and atmosphere, a mission which will include a launch from Mars to return to Earth, demonstrating critical technologies needed to make a round trip. Considering the state of know-how supporting this interplanetary journey, we may find that the first person to walk on Mars has already been born.

The below is a recording of this past event (from May 6, 2024):

About Maria T. Zuber

Maria Zuber is the E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics and Vice President for Research at MIT. Her research bridges planetary geophysics and the technology of space-based laser and radio systems. Since 1990, she has held leadership roles associated with scientific experiments or instrumentation on ten NASA missions, most notably serving as Principal Investigator of the GRAIL mission. She currently leads the gravity investigation on the NASA Psyche mission and serves as chair of the Standing Review Board of the Mars Sample Return mission.

Vice President Zuber is the first woman to lead a science department at MIT and the first to lead a NASA planetary mission. In 2004, President Bush appointed her to the Presidential Commission on the Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy. In 2002, Discover magazine named her one of the 50 most important women in science and, in 2008, she was named to the USNews/Harvard Kennedy School List of America’s Best Leaders. In 2013, President Obama appointed her to the National Science Board, and in 2016 she was elected Board Chair. She currently serves as Co-chair of President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.