Cosmic Explorations Speaker Series
The LPI’s Cosmic Explorations Speaker Series (CESS) strives to connect the public to the exciting research, missions, and individuals in planetary and space science.
CESS Lineup
What Might Artemis Astronauts Encounter at the Lunar South Pole?
June 8, 2023
7:30 p.m. CDT
In-person and online
Join the LPI for a hybrid presentation (in-person and online) by Dr. David Kring, Principal Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Artemis III astronauts will land on a fascinatingly cold and rugged terrain in the lunar south polar region. Far different than terrains traversed by Apollo astronauts, the south-polar terrain presents new and exciting scientific opportunities to learn more about the Moon. Dr. Kring will discuss this unique environment and what astronauts may encounter during traverses of this unexplored region.
Join This EventA Revolution in Solar System Astronomy with JWST
April 6, 2023
7:30 p.m. CDT
During the first year of JWST’s scientific operations, hundreds of hours are being dedicated to observations of solar system bodies, ranging from the gas giants to small near-Earth asteroids. The observatory’s state-of-the-art instruments are revealing the properties of these enigmatic objects in unprecedented detail. Dr. Ian Wong of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will provide a high-level overview of some of the highlights from the first year of JWST solar system observations and discuss how these results will revolutionize our understanding of solar system formation and evolution.
Watch the RecordingHybrid public science event: Venus science panel
January 31, 2023
7:00 p.m. CST
The LPI hosted a public panel discussion on the evening of January 31, 2023. Planetary scientists debated our current understanding of Venus’s surface and atmosphere — highlighting similarities and differences to our own planet – and shared their insights and expectations about the future missions to Venus.
Watch the RecordingApollo 16 and 17 Retrospective: Doing Geology on the Moon
November 3, 2022
7:30 p.m. CDT
In-person and online
Dr. Walter Kiefer, Associate Director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, will look back on the scientific success of the Apollo 16 and 17 missions. He’ll discuss how astronauts conducted geology on the Moon’s surface, why those missions’ particular landing sites were selected, and what was learned about the Moon’s history from samples returned by the missions.
Watch the RecordingLive and in-person: The DART mission impact into asteroid Dimorphos
September 26, 2022
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CDT
Dr. Edgard Rivera-Valentín, a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, will provide a DART mission overview and live commentary as the DART spacecraft approaches and impacts the asteroid.
Watch the RecordingWatch Recordings
Recordings of past presentations can be viewed on the LPI YouTube channel and in the Cosmic Explorations Speaker Series archive.
