When
3:45 p.m., Jan. 14, 2014
Where
Kuiper Space Sciences 308
Dr. Jim Green
Planetary Science Division Director
NASA Headquarters
NASA'S Solar System Exploration Paradigm:
The First 50 Years and a look at the Next 50
In exploring any particular solar system object over the past fifty years, NASA has followed a general paradigm of "flyby, orbit, land, rove, and sample return." A complete campaign may not be performed for each object in the solar system, since not all our scientific questions can be studied at all objects, and there are high technological and financial hurdles to overcome for some missions and certain destinations. Moreover, a healthy program of solar system exploration requires a balance between detailed investigations of a particular target and broader reconnaissance of a variety of similar targets. In following this paradigm, a descriptive review of the past exploration of solar system bodies will be discussed, the significant progress on a number of solar system bodies currently underway, and the recipe for exploration as applied to the recent Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Finally, a thoughtful reflection will be made of NASA's creation of the discipline of planetary science, predictions for the future, and the potential for the discovery of life beyond Earth.
Host: Roger Yelle
Planetary Science Division Director
NASA Headquarters
NASA'S Solar System Exploration Paradigm:
The First 50 Years and a look at the Next 50
In exploring any particular solar system object over the past fifty years, NASA has followed a general paradigm of "flyby, orbit, land, rove, and sample return." A complete campaign may not be performed for each object in the solar system, since not all our scientific questions can be studied at all objects, and there are high technological and financial hurdles to overcome for some missions and certain destinations. Moreover, a healthy program of solar system exploration requires a balance between detailed investigations of a particular target and broader reconnaissance of a variety of similar targets. In following this paradigm, a descriptive review of the past exploration of solar system bodies will be discussed, the significant progress on a number of solar system bodies currently underway, and the recipe for exploration as applied to the recent Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Finally, a thoughtful reflection will be made of NASA's creation of the discipline of planetary science, predictions for the future, and the potential for the discovery of life beyond Earth.
Host: Roger Yelle
General
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Undergraduate
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