Special Edition – Perseverance Landing Featuring John Grotzinger

Today we bring you a special edition to lift your spirits and your weekend out of this world! In fact, toward Mars, where the Perseverance rover has made a spectacular landing on the red planet in pursuit of new science.

Leading our virtual mission from his post at Caltech is our good friend, John Grotzinger. John is a professor of geology and geobiology, and the division chair for Geological and Planetary Sciences, at that esteemed university. Prior to moving to Caltech in 2005, he spent 18 years as a member of the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). John is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a recipient of NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal, and one of three inaugural advisory board members at Halliburton Labs.

As if those credentials were not impressive enough, John is uniquely well qualified to explain Perseverance's significance. He served as chief scientist for the Mars Curiosity rover mission from 2007 to 2015. As John explains in our video, the informed risks taken during that mission, and lessons learned, enabled the Perseverance mission to push boundaries never before attempted. His explanation of the drill bit on the rover is not to be missed!

Colin and I, both space enthusiasts, could barely contain our excitement. We hope you find this conversation with a genuine 'rock and rocket' scientist as stimulating as we did!