The AIAA Houston Section proudly presents:

Questioning the Surface of Mars as the 21st Century's Ultimate Pioneering Destination in Space

Monday, March 9, 2020

5:30pm

NASA JSC Gilruth Center, Discovery Room

$20 with Dinner | Free for Lecture Only

This 1.5-hour lecture reviews historic Earthly distinctions between exploring and pioneering before applying these distinctions to destinations in space. Although a case can be made for human and robotic exploration in space, there is as yet no compelling rationale for "putting down roots" to pioneer anywhere off Earth. Why then is the surface of Mars widely accepted as humanity's future "home away from home" to the extent some 200,000 people are willing to attempt forming a permanent colony there? There is no evidence suggesting humans can survive on the surface of Mars long term, let alone thrive there to produce viable offspring. A variety of evidence is presented to affirm the surface of Mars is a "socio-cultural" destination whose suitability for human pioneering is based on more than a century of fictional literature and poorly informed research as the Space Age dawned. More current knowledge of the "unexplored country" in our Solar System suggests small bodies such as asteroids and the moons of Mars are humanity's best hope for pioneering off Earth this century.