NZAN is at MOTAT
We are at MOTAT today, for their annual STEM Fair along with a fresh lineup of scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians, who will engage and inspire visitors with their impressive inventions, gadgets, demonstrations, and technological gizmos. We are obviously talking about Space and Exploration. Come see us!
Hans Huybrighs, Max Planck Institute and European Space Agency (ESA)
Hans Huybrighs from Max Plank Institute is visiting Wellington. He will give a talk for the New Zealand Astrobiology Network in partnership with Milky-Way.kiwi, News from the Galactic Centre talking about water volcanoes on Europa, and what is it like to be tasting an extraterrestrial ocean.
Daniella Scalice, Education and Communication Lead for the NASA Astrobiology Program, visits New Zealand
Daniella Scalice, Education and Communication Lead for the NASA Astrobiology Program is coming to New Zealand in October. In 2005 she and her Diné colleagues co-founded the “NASA and the Navajo Nation” initiative, an ongoing collaboration that has produced classroom materials, teacher trainings, and student summer camps which weave together Western scientific and Navajo Cultural knowledge. We are looking forward to welcoming her to New Zealand.
AAM 2018 – Astrobiology Australasia Meeting
New Zealand’s first international conference in astrobiology took place in Rotorua on the 24th, 25 and 26th of June 2018. Here is a synopsis of the event.
TE AO MĀRAMA meeting
Abstracts are now accepted for consideration as talks or posters for TE AO MĀRAMA MEETING – free registration. When: 24-25 October 2018, Where: The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Auckland
Angélica Anglés, astrobiologist, visiting New Zealand
Dr Angélica Anglés attended the Astrobiology Australasia Meeting 2018 in June 2018 and also the Synergies in Space Mission to Mars in September 2018. Angélica Anglés completed her BEng at the University of Gävle (Sweden) and University of Valencia (Spain). She completed 3 MSc degrees in Space Geodesy, Astrophysics and Planetary Science at University of […]
Liquid water detected on Mars, can it hold life?
This week, the European Space Agency announced that radar data collected by ESA’s Mars Express point to a pond of liquid water buried under layers of ice and dust in the south polar region of Mars. There is a long way between finding liquid brine pools on Mars and finding life. However, there might be a similar place on Earth, the Blood Falls in Antarctica that originate from a hypersaline brine groundwater environment that supports an anaerobic microbial ecosystem sustained by chemical energy. Professor Ian Hawes from Waikato University explains the importance of the discovery from Mars.
Professor Kathy Campbell at the AM show about NASA MSL rover’s discovery of methane on Mars
NASA MSL rover discovers methane on Mars, what does it mean? Listen to NZAN Professor Kathy Campbell talking on New Zealand’s TV3 AM show about the NASA Curiosity discovery of organic molecules on Mars’ surface.
Europe launches a Virtual Institute for Astrobiology
Europe launches The European Astrobiology Institute (EAI) at the recommendations of the AstroMap Report.
The 2nd International Mars Sample Return Conference
Professor Kathy Campbell of University of Auckland and Chair of the Board of trustees for the New Zealand Astrobiology Network was invited to the 2nd International Mars Sample Return Conference in Berlin, April 2018, where she presented on the value of returning samples from hydrothermal environments as part of a NASA led team of 71 scientists from around the world.