Phoenix Mars Mission scientist to speak at UAF

 

Phoenix Mars Mission scientist to speak at UAF

Submitted by Amy Hartley
Phone: (907) 474-5823
06/21/06

Caption below.
Image courtesy University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Lab
Peter Smith, a senior research scientist at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Lab, has participated in many of the pioneering space missions that have explored our solar system since 1978. In 2003, Smith’s Phoenix Lander was selected to be NASA’s next mission to Mars.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Peter Smith, principal investigator of the Phoenix Mars Mission, will give a public talk titled "Phoenix Mars Lander Mission: Exploring the Martian Arctic."? The talk will be held at the Charles Davis Concert Hall at the University of Alaska Fairbanks at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 27.

Smith’s presentation is just one component of the seven-day Mars Arctic Regions Science Field Experience for Secondary Teachers (MARSFEST). The workshop will provide hands-on training for 20 teachers from the United States and Canada on polar processes and climate change on both Earth and Mars. Through MARSFEST, teachers will work with scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado, Tufts University and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The workshop will be held at the Geophysical Institute beginning June 25.

Peter Smith, a senior research scientist at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Lab, has participated in many of the pioneering space missions that have explored our solar system since 1978. In 2003, Smith’s Phoenix Lander was selected to be NASA’s next mission to Mars. Phoenix will study the history of water and climate change, and search for organic molecules in the Martian arctic using some of the most advanced technology ever sent to the Red Planet.

CONTACT: Lisa Tidwell, MARSFEST coordinator, at (480) 262-3826. Amy Hartley, Geophysical Institute information officer at (907) 474-5823 or via e-mail at amy.hartley@gi.alaska.edu.

ON THE WEB: phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/

Additional photos and graphics are available on request.