Are we alone in the Universe? Dr Ken Amor discusses the prospect for finding life beyond our own planet and why many space agencies and scientists are interested in discovering whether life began on Mars. Dr Amor talks about the latest ideas of how life might have begun here on Earth and why we think Mars is the best option for finding evidence of past life in our own solar system. This talk will be particularly useful if you are currently studying or interested in Biology, Astrobiology or Earth Sciences.
Watch Dr Ken Amor’s talk below! You can find links to further resources underneath the video.
Take a look at Mars
The image below is a panorama, assembled from many images from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA’a Curiosity Mars rover. It shows a view towards areas of Mount Sharp, a mountain on Mars.
Click here to read the NASA article about this panorama image and explore it in more detail.
Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Further resources
Click the links below to find out more about:
- BBC Radio 4 – In Our Time, Mars: Melvyn Bragg discusses Mars and the debate on whether life ever existed there.
- NASA’s Mars Exploration Program: check out the latest findings of the NASA Mars Rovers and Landers at this weblink.
- BBC – Earth – The secret of how life on Earth began: take a look at this BBC summary of the history and latest ideas of how life began on Earth .
Talk by Dr Ken Amor, STEM Access and Outreach Associate, for the St John’s Inspire Programme Summer School.
Dr Ken amor
Dr Amor researches the geochemistry of the chromium cycle. This covers the vast expanse of time from the formation of the solar system to the modern day. Chromium isotopes can be used to trace the early evolution of the solar system, and shed light on changes to the earth during the evolution of life. They may also be used to detect traces of large meteorite impacts in the geological record, and can give insight to the environmental incidents that cause mass extinctions.
Credit for featured image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS