Monthly Meeting

At our monthly meeting on June 22 at 7:00 pm, Dr. Kevin P. Hand will deliver a lecture entitled “Alien Oceans on Earth and Beyond.” Due to a conflict, this meeting will be held a week earlier than our usual last-Thursday-of-the-month slot. This meeting will also be virtual only, with no in-person meeting at the Greenbelt Community Center.

This lecture is free and open to the public. The meeting will begin with casual conversation at 7:00 pm, and the lecture will start at 7:30 pm.

Lecture Abstract

Where is the best place to find living life beyond Earth? It may be that the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn harbor some of the most habitable real estate in our Solar System. Life loves liquid water and these moons have lots of it.

These alien oceans of the outer solar system have likely persisted for much of the history of the solar system and as a result they are highly compelling targets in our search for life beyond Earth. Dr. Hand will explain the science behind why we think we
know these oceans exist and what we know about the conditions on these worlds. He will focus on Jupiter’s moon Europa, which is a top priority for future missions. He will also detail how the exploration of Earth’s ocean is helping to guide our understanding of the potential habitability of worlds like Europa.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Hand is a planetary scientist and astrobiologist at NASA’s JPL, where he directs the Ocean Worlds Lab. His research focuses on the search for life in the solar system, with an emphasis on Jupiter’s moon Europa. He is helping lead NASA’s Europa Lander mission concept, and from 2011 to 2016 he served as the deputy chief scientist for Solar System Exploration at JPL. His fieldwork has taken him from the Artic to the Antarctica and to the depths of Earth’s ocean. His book Alien Oceans was recently published by Princeton University Press.

Zoom Information

• Meeting URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89859006757?pwd=aWVkbEV3ekg0d1ZlL0ZROXBYM3BVQT09
• Meeting ID: 898 5900 6757
• Passcode: 382739
• Meeting Phone: (301) 715-8592