September 21, 2001
Contact: Tim Stephens (831) 459-2495; stephens@cats.ucsc.edu

Planetary Scientist Pascal Lee to Discuss Polar Research and Missions to Mars in Free Public Lecture at UC Santa Cruz on October 18

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Pascal Lee, a planetary scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, will give a free public lecture on Thursday, October 18, at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The lecture, "Mars on Earth: Polar Research and Human Missions to Mars," will take place at 8 p.m. in Classroom Unit 2 on the UCSC campus.

Lee is based at the NASA Ames Research Center and is the principal investigator of the NASA Haughton-Mars Project, an international research program at the Haughton impact crater in the Canadian Arctic. Located on desolate Devon Island, the largest uninhabited island on Earth, the Haughton crater has environmental conditions and geologic features analogous to those that might be encountered on Mars.

The Haughton-Mars team has used the crater's rocky polar desert setting to investigate the evolution of geologic features on Mars, the effects of meteorite impacts on Earth, and the possibilities of life in extreme environments. The team also conducts field studies of the technologies, strategies, human factors, and hardware designs relevant to the future exploration of Mars by robots and humans.

Soon after Lee's lecture, on October 24, the NASA Mars Odyssey spacecraft is due to arrive at the red planet. The Odyssey will orbit Mars gathering data on its climate and geologic history, searching for evidence of liquid water, and setting the stage for future missions.

Lee is a founding member of the Mars Society, an international nonprofit private organization in support of the human exploration of Mars. His interest in "Mars analog" studies have often taken him to Earth's polar regions and deserts, including several trips to Antarctica. He received his M.E. degree in engineering geology and geophysics from the University of Paris and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in astronomy and space sciences from Cornell University.

Lee's lecture, presented by the UCSC Astronomy and Astrophysics Department and UC Observatories/Lick Observatory, is part of the Halliday Lecture Series, made possible through the generous support of John and Layne Halliday to promote public awareness and appreciation for astronomy and astrophysics.

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