April 6, 2023 ONLINE
4pm ET
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cdi-welcomes-former-nasa-chief-scientist-james-l-green-tickets-515402501757

We are thrilled to welcome invited speaker, James L. Green, Former NASA Chief Scientist.

Exploring Mars with Perseverance and ingenuity

In the control room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, we finally received the signal that the capsule containing Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter had touched the top of the atmosphere of Mars. But due to the light travel time of over 10 minutes the rover was on the surface of Mars either completely intact or completely disassembled. The final decisions on where the Rover well actually sat down were made by the Rover itself using artificial intelligence (AI) software. AI is NASA’s way of improvisation. Making decisions quickly and deviating from an existing plan is rarely what NASA does, but there are some instances in which this approach is essential for mission success. The Perseverance rover is designed to better understand the geological history of Mars and seek signs of ancient life. The mission will collect and store a set of rock and soil samples that will be returned to Earth for detailed analysis. It will also test new technology to benefit future robotic and human exploration of Mars—the Ingenuity helicopter and for the first time an audio microphone listening to the sounds on the Red Planet. This talk will give you an opportunity to talk to one of the key creators of this mission and discuss how NASA utilized artificial intelligence and sounds for its rovers to navigate and survive on the Red Planet.

Bio

Dr. Jim Green is the former NASA Chief Scientist. He was the longest serving director of the Planetary Science Division with the overall programmatic responsibility for the New Horizons spacecraft flyby of Pluto, the Juno spacecraft to Jupiter, and the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars just to name a few. Jim received the NASA Exceptional Achievement and the Distinguished Service Medals. He has written over 125 scientific articles in refereed journals and over 80 technical and popular articles. In 2015, Jim helped coordinate the NASA involvement with the film The Martian.