Azusa, Calif.- With a planned November launch, excitement builds over NASA’s new Mars rover, Curiosity. On Tues., Nov. 15, Azusa Pacific University’s Center for Research in Science (CRIS) welcomes to campus Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, Ph.D., deputy project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. Vasavada delivers his lecture “Exploring the Red Planet in 2012 with the Mars Rover Curiosity,” at 4 p.m. in Wilden Hall, room 202, on East Campus, located at 901 E. Alosta Ave. in Azusa. The public is invited to this free event.
During his presentation, Vasavada will discuss the upcoming exploration of Mars with the $2.5 billion rover. Approximately the size of a car, Curiousity represents NASA’s most ambitious attempt to understand Mars’ history, geology, and potential habitability.
“We are eagerly anticipating Dr. Vasavada’s visit to discuss JPL’s Mars exploration work using more sophisticated rover technologies,” said Leslie Wickman, Ph.D., CRIS director. “It is the university’s hope that visits from highly accomplished scientists like Dr. Vasavada will inspire our students to pursue careers of significance in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields.”
Designed to assess the planet's suitability for life, Curiousity recently arrived at its Florida launch pad in preparation for a planned Nov. 25 liftoff. The rover, powered by heat from the decay of radioactive plutonium, should spend 687 days exploring a massive crater that is three miles high.
Vasavada leads the international team of scientists dedicated to this mission. His areas of interest include the climate history of Mars, the weather on Jupiter and Saturn, and the possibility of ice at the poles of the moon and Mercury. He obtained a B.S. in geophysics from the University of California at Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in planetary science from the California Institute of Technology.
CRIS exists to serve a community of students, scholars, and laypersons by promoting research that encompasses the scope of scientific studies and addresses the inseparable relationship between science and culture, its role in classical liberal arts education, and the ancient dialogue between faith and reason.
