Why go to Mars? The Derry Dialogues

This event is going to explore Mars through presentations, a panel discussion and questions from the audience. Physics Professor Ralf Gellert will be one of the panel members. The event will cover (from the event's webpage(External Link)):

In this the inaugural Derry Dialogue, we are going to ask: Why are we going to Mars? Should we go to Mars? What will we discover there about the planet and about ourselves?
And who better to be our guides then a Canadian astronaut, two internationally renowned researchers who worked on the Mars Rovers and contributed to sustaining life in space, and a leading academic who advises NASA’s astrobiology program.

The Panel includes:

• Dr. Robert Thirsk(External Link), Astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency from 1984 to 2012 and Chancellor of the University of Calgary
• Dr. Mike Dixon(External Link), Director, Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph
• Dr. Ralf Gellert, Associate Professor, Department of Physics, University of Guelph
• Dr. Linda Billings(External Link), Consultant to NASA's astrobiology and planetary defense programs, National Institute of Aerospace
•  Moderated by Dr. Sofie Lachapelle(External Link), Professor of History of Science & Acting Associate Vice President (Academic), University of Guelph

For more information, and description of each panel member, please visit the event's webpage(External Link).