National Astronomy Week 2020

Rovers, Orbiters & Landers - we've sent many robots to Mars! Tonight we are delighted to be joined by Professor Sanjeev Gupta (Imperial College London) and John Chinner (Airbus Space) to talk about the research and engineering of current and future rover missions to Mars. Find out how and why we send these robots and how we operate rovers on Mars ... and what we're hoping to find!

** This event has run.  You can view a recording on our YouTube channel by clicking here.

About the Speakers:

Sanjeev Gupta is a planetary geologist who is exploring the surface evolution of Mars. He works on the NASA Curiosity and Perseverance rover missions, and the ESA/ROSCOMOS Rosalind Franklin rover mission due to launch in 2022. @SanjeevGupta45 https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/s.gupta

John Chinnor has a great passion to stimulate, educate and inspire as many young people into STEM careers as possible. Being a self-confessed and proud "geek" really helps with this. Since joining Airbus in 2010 from the Ministry of Defence John has worked on a number of projects, and is currently the Faculty Head for Electronics in the Airbus Defence and Space Engineering Academy. As a seasoned engineer and with a passion for developing people, John is responsible for making sure the business has engineers with the skills required deliver projects across the entire business portfolio, including the ExoMars and Fetch rovers.

As a STEM Ambassador, John is currently focusing his outreach activities on the ExoMars rover launch in 2022. This has resulted in him building a functional model Mars rover to take to schools. He will often get the students to drive the rover remotely form another room, simulating the excitement of the search for life on Mars. It's this stimulation and interaction that he believes makes a real difference.

Hosts: Emily Drabek-Maunder (Royal Observatory Greenwich) & Nigel Henbest (Astronomy Author)