The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission in Jezero Crater, Mars
by Dr Jesse Tarnas (NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

In February 2021, NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, the site of an ancient lake. The mission seeks to discover signs of ancient martian life, and will collect rock, soil, and atmospheric samples for possible return to Earth. Perseverance and its field partner—the Ingenuity helicopter—have been actively exploring Jezero crater for several months, successfully coring the mission’s first rock sample. Multiple distinct geologic units have been characterized through these investigations, each containing information about the environmental history, habitability, and planetary evolution of Mars. Here I will cover the technological achievements and scientific discoveries of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission, as well as their implications for astrobiology, planetary science, and space exploration.

Webinar recording
@EverythingScience

Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Horsepower

What is horsepower? On this explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice break down what horsepower means a unit of measure, and where it comes from. Could we measure explosions in terms of Death Stars?

We hop in our horseless carriages and take a ride down what it means for something to have horsepower. We break down engines and the different metrics used to measure their power. What about watts? How much horsepower does a NASA shuttle rocket engine have? What would it take to get millions of horses to run fast enough to get into orbit? We discuss how the power of atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs are quantified. Exploding horses? Death Stars? All that and more, on another StarTalk explainer!

Video | Stream on YouTube
@EverythingScience

Can YOU Fix Climate Change?

Never before in human history have we been richer, more advanced or powerful. And yet we feel overwhelmed in the face of rapid climate change. It seems simple on the surface. Greenhouse gases trap energy from the Sun and transfer it to our atmosphere. This leads to warmer winters, harsher summers. Dry places become drier and wet places wetter. Countless ecosystems will die while the rising oceans swallow coasts and the cities we build on them.

So why don’t we just like… prevent all of that? Well, it’s complicated.

Video (Kurzgesagt) | Stream on YouTube
@EverythingScience

The Universe is Hostile to Computers
Tiny particles from distant galaxies have caused plane accidents, election interference and game glitches. Why does this happen and how can we mitigate this?

Video | Stream on YouTube
@EverythingScience