Lecture for 16-18 yo

NASA's Quest to Find Life in Martian Caves.

While Mars' surface is inhospitable for life as we know it, its subsurface could hold the key to preserving life that may have spawned there during its early stages. Luckily, we have evidence of numerous caves on Mars that were created by its once-thriving volcanoes, and we can explore similar volcano-induced caves here on Earth to let autonomous robots practise looking for life and to better understand what that life may look like. NASA's BRAILLE Project has been doing just this, utilising AI-powered robots to map, navigate, and search caves for colonies of some very small forms of life. Eventually, these robots may find the first traces of life on another planet by working in groups to explore the Martian subsurface.

About the speaker

Ryan is a science communicator and educator most heavily involved in astronomy and astrobiology. He has mentored and tutored high school and college students for several years, has given webinars around the world (including India, Egypt, and the US), and has published a how-to guide for beginners looking to get involved in astronomy. Ryan brings his passion for science with him while bringing the complexities of that science down to a more understandable level for young students.