Join us in Washington, D.C., for a special presentation from IU Provost Professor Emerita Lisa Pratt, a world-renowned scientist and researcher who's currently serving as NASA's planetary protection officer. You can read more about her presentation and background below.
Whether you're interested in space and extraplanetary exploration or simply want to catch up with other Washington-area IU alumni, this event is for you. A reception and audience Q&A will follow Dr. Pratt's presentation.
With special guest Congressman Jim Banks, this event is a partnership between the Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences, IU Parent Engagement, Women's Philanthropy at IU, and the Office of Congressman Banks.
Presentation details | Planetary protection protocols safeguard the biological cleanliness of outbound spacecraft and enable exploration of other habitable worlds without jeopardizing future searches for evidence of extraterrestrial life. This principle is referred to as avoiding forward contamination. In addition, the Earth must be scrupulously protected from potential biological hazards posed by extraterrestrial life forms carried on inbound spacecraft from other planetary bodies.
This principle is referred to as preventing backward contamination. The genomic revolution has strengthen our ability to predict whether or not terrestrial microbes and putative extraterrestrial microbes are likely to remain viable when transferred from one planetary body to another.
Speaker biography | Lisa Pratt is a professor emerita in the IU College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and also serves as the planetary protection officer at NASA. Her research focuses on understanding life’s adaptations to extreme environments on Earth and on working with engineers to solve robotic challenges associated with the search for evidence of past or present life on Mars as well as the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Her biogeochemical research on microbial transformation of simple inorganic molecules has been funded for two decades by NASA and the National Science Foundation. From 2003 to 2008, Pratt served as a team director at the NASA Astrobiology Institute and, from 2013 to 2016, as chair of NASA's Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group. She has also been a member of the Return Sample Science Board for the Mars 2020 Rover mission, which is responsible for advanced planning related to the safe transportation of Martian samples to Earth for analysis. She holds a Ph.D. in geology from Princeton University.
If you have any questions about this event, please e-mail the College's Director of Alumni Relations Vanessa Cloe.
