Mars: The Next Step

The visit of the NASA geologist Dr. James Rice

At the beginning of a lecture tour by NASA’s preeminent expert on Mars research Dr. James Rice, a press conference took place on Tuesday, 17 September 2013 at the headquarters of the Academy of Sciences of the CR in Prague. Other than the American scientist, also the Ambassador of the USA in Prague Norman L. Eisen and Vice-President of the ASCR RNDr. Jan Šafanda, CSc. appeared. “Through this event, the ASCR is trying to show the public that space research in which a number of academic institutes are involved and which costs a great deal of money returns bounteously to society – both through expanding our knowledge of the solar system and also a number of practical applications and technological innovations,” said J. Šafanda.

Dr. James Rice then briefly outlined the main reasons we should be interested in Mars. “The human race will one day leave this planet and set out into space,” said the American researcher expressing his conviction that relies on a deep knowledge of the history. It is a possible solution to saving humanity from the threat of a collision with other celestial bodies, which after all has already threatened life on Earth several times in the past and Mars is the most similar to our planet. According to J. Rice, people will walk on Mars already in the 2030s and perhaps in a hundred years will colonize the red planet. Another reason is natural human curiosity and the need to examine, which Rice says we already have in our DNA. “The further we penetrate into space, the better we will understand our own history,” stressed the NASA expert, because the chemical elements from which we, just like the rest of terrestrial nature, are comprised came to our planet from distant stars.

Dr. James Rice started his lecture tour the same day in an afternoon meeting with leading Czech scientists for whom he had prepared a special presentation of the topic of Robotic Field Geology on Mars.

Within the project, the exhibition Mars: The Next Step will be shown in Prague and other cities . The exhibition will be accompanied by a documentary film from the History Channel – Colonizing Mars. In Prague, the exhibition will be open from 18 to 27 September 2013 on work days 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., in the building of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Národní 3, Prague 1. Entrance is free of charge.

A lecture for the public at the Academy of Sciences of the CR (Národní 1009/3, Prague 1) will be given by Dr. James Rice in Prague on 21 September 2013 at 3 p.m.

Planetary scientist dr. James Rice made a live TV appearance in Hyde Park Civilizace on 21 September 2013

Registration required at the e-mail address: uherkova@ssc.cas.cz
At 2 p.m., a documentary film will be shown from the History Channel – Colonizing Mars.

Attendance only based on previous registration for the lecture.

You can find more in the press release.