Mars Invasion! The Future of NASA's Exploration at the Red Planet & After Party

The Mars Invasion! (http://www.mountbakertheatre.com/shows/mars-invasion-the-past-present-and-future-of-nasas-exploration-at-the-red-planet/) event will begin at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:30pm. After the event wraps up (which will be around 9pm), there will be an after party (https://www.facebook.com/events/807664842701644/) at Uisce's Irish Pub for anyone who would like to hang out.

Tickets (http://www.mountbakertheatre.com/shows/mars-invasion-the-past-present-and-future-of-nasas-exploration-at-the-red-planet/) for the event at Mt. Baker Theatre are only $5 each, so make sure to purchase yours as soon as possible to get a seat. And bring your friends! The main speaker is an award-winning science communicator and top scientist on NASA's next Mars rover mission. It will be a fantastic show!

EVENT DETAILS:

Have you ever wondered about Mars? Its ancient history of flowing water and calm seas? Or if humans will set foot on the Red Planet in your lifetime? What would they find? How do we know what’s out there?

In this special, all-ages event some of the world’s top Mars scientists and engineers will gather in Bellingham to share the revolution in scientific understanding of the Red Planet and preview NASA’s future Mars exploration missions at the Mt. Baker Theatre on Monday, June 27th at 7:30pm.

“Mars Invasion! The past, present, and future of NASA's exploration at the Red Planet” features Dr. Jim Bell, the lead scientist in charge of the next-generation camera system that will fly on NASA’s new Mars rover, which is scheduled to launch in 2020.

Western Washington University’s own Dr. Melissa Rice, Assistant Professor of Planetary Science and member of three NASA Mars rover missions, will engage a dynamic discussion of Mars scientists and engineers—as well as former NASA Shuttle astronaut Captain Wendy Lawrence—on the future of human and robotic exploration of the red planet.

The audience will have the ability to interact with the experts to ask questions about Mars and space exploration during a live Q&A.

Jim Bell is the author of multiple books and has participated in nearly every NASA missions to Mars since the 1990s. He also serves as the President of The Planetary Society and is a Professor of Earth and Space Science at Arizona State University. In 2011 he received the (http://dps.aas.org/prizes/sagan)Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication (http://dps.aas.org/prizes/sagan) from the American Astronomical Society.

Don’t miss this riveting story of the modern revolution in humanity’s understanding of the Red Planet, and NASA’s exciting plans to keep searching for the unknown.

Guests on stage:

Dr. Jim Bell
Principal Investigator of Mastcam-Z (http://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/science/for-scientists/instruments/mastcam-z/), the scientific camera system on NASA's Mars 2020 rover. Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University

Dr. Melissa Rice
Assistant Professor of Planetary Science, Western Washington University. Science team member of NASA's Mars 2020, Mars Curiosity, and Mars Opportunity rover missions.

Emily Lakdawalla
Senior Editor and Planetary Evangelist for The Planetary Society.

Dr. Justin Maki
Imaging Scientist and Deputy Principal Investigator for the Mastcam-Z system on Mars 2020, engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Capt. Wendy Lawrence
Four-time Space Shuttle astronaut (retired).