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To Earth and Back

Presenter: Seth Shostak, SETI Institute
When: May 21, 2012 1PM PDT

We are all Martians … or could be, if, billions of years ago, Red Plant microbes fell to Earth and eventually evolved to us. Okay, that one’s a big “if.” But microbes can survive space travel. Meet the NASA officer whose task is to keep Earth, Mars – and the entire solar system –safe from hitchhiking bacteria.

And, even if we’re not Martians (darn!), did life once thrive on the Red Planet … and does it still today?

Plus, why meteorites may be happy habitats for life.
Guests:

Catharine Conley – NASA planetary protection officer Chris McKay – Planetary scientist, NASA Ames Research Center Paul Davies – Director of the BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University Aaron Burton – Astrobiologist, NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center Debbie Kolyer – Grants Manager, SETI Institute Descripción en español This episode was tagged with: astrobiology terraforming water space virus Mars meteors
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