The University of California, Riverside has a lecture series entitled Are We Alone?, discussing the search for life in the universe—from analyzing our cosmic origins and early Earth analogues, to exploring Mars, icy moons, and other Earth-like planets. Presenters include members of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) Alternative Earths team.

The next installment in the series will be “Mars 2020 & Beyond: Will We Find Life on the Red Planet?” presented by Ken Williford, Deputy Project Scientist, Mars 2020 Mission and Director, Astrobiogeochemistry Laboratory, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The lecture takes place March 23, 2017, 6-7:30PM PST, and a live stream can be viewed at the UC Riverside Science Lecture Series website.

Past recorded lectures from the Are We Alone? series are also available at the website. The series continues through April 2017.


Upcoming lecture:

Thursday, April 13, 2017
“Alien Planets: Are There Other Earths Lurking in Our Galaxy?”
Speaker: Antigona Segura Peralta, Professor of Astrobiology, National Autonomous University of Mexico
Special Activity: TBD


Previous lectures:

Wednesday, February 1, 2017
“Ocean Worlds: Missions to Icy Moons and Dwarf Planets”
Speaker: Kevin Hand, Deputy Project Scientist of the Solar System Exploration Directorate at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Thursday, January 12, 2017
“Alternative Earths: How Earth’s Past Guides NASA’s Search for Life”
Speaker: Tim Lyons, Distinguished Professor of Biogeochemistry and Director, Alternative Earths Astrobiology Center, UC Riverside
Telescope Viewing Event: “Our Celestial Neighbors”

Thursday, December 8, 2016
“Our Cosmic Origins: Stars, Galaxies, and the Stuff of Life”
Speaker: Bahram Mobasher, Professor of Physics & Astronomy and Associate Director, Alternative Earths Astrobiology Center, UC Riverside
Special Guest Panel Discussion: “Humanity’s Place in the Universe”