Melissa Rice: Mapping Mars

Melissa Rice, assistant professor of planetary science at WWU, will give a talk called “Mapping Mars: Our Evolving Vision of the Red Planet – Part II” at Western Libraries in the Map Collection, (Wilson Library Room 290). This event is free and open to the public.

In recent decades, mapping efforts by sophisticated spacecraft on Mars have revolutionized our vision of the Red Planet. Rice will discuss the mapping, science, and exploration of Mars. While scientists once thought Mars was a living world covered with vegetation that changed with the seasons, the Space Age brought a new view of Mars as a dry, cratered and barren planet. This talk picks up where Rice left off in 2015 when she was the inaugural speaker for the “Speaking of Maps” lecture series. She will explore new maps by NASA’s Curiosity Rover, and talk about plans for the next big mission to Mars launching in July 2020.