November 20, Washington D.C.
NEW LOCATION: The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

• 6:30 p.m. Doors open
• 7:00 p.m. Lecture begins promptly

Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet

In January 2004, twin robotic explorers named Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars. Expected to last for 90 days, the two rovers have now been exploring the Martian surface for more than four years. Their objective is to search for evidence of past water on Mars, and to determine if Mars ever had conditions that would have been suitable for life. To develop Spirit and Opportunity, a team of more than 4,000 highly motivated engineers and scientists overcame a host of technical challenges. The challenges were multiplied by an extraordinarily tight schedule that was driven by the motions of the planets.

On Thursday, November 20, Steven W. Squyres, the principal investigator for NASA on the Mars Rover Project, will deliver an academic lecture especially for capital-area Cornellians and friends. The talk will provide an up-to-date summary of the missions of Spirit and Opportunity, from their initial conception through their development, launch, landing, and operations on the surface of Mars.