7 January 2003 — A free public lecture titled "Mars on Earth: Polar Research and the Human Exploration of Mars" will be given on 1 February by Pascal Lee, who is chairman of the Mars Institute, a planetary scientist with the SETI Institute (SETI: Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), and the principal investigator and project leader of the NASA Haughton-Mars Project. The lecture is the second of six consecutive Saturday-morning lectures during the 2003 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science. The series this year, titled "Beyond Earth: Living on Other Worlds," is designed to be a free minicourse for the enjoyment and education of residents in in Central Pennsylvania communities. The lectures take place from 11:00 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park Campus.

"Mars is of interest to humans because it is one of the planets that most closely resembles the Earth and it is readily accessible," says Lee, whose lecture will provide an overview on the NASA Haughton-Mars Project, a research program on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic, one of the most Mars-like sites on Earth, designed to help scientists learn about Mars and how to plan for a journey to the Red Planet. "While no place on Earth is truly like Mars, the polar regions and other extreme environments on our planet offer a wide variety of possible 'analogs' from which we may learn key lessons about the evolution of Mars, the history of water on that planet, and the possibilities for life beyond Earth," Lee explains. Lee will discuss the how the similarities and differences between the Earth and Mars affect the planning for future human and robotic missions to explore Mars.

Since its establishment in 1997, the international project has been investigating some of the possible parallels and differences between the Earth and Mars and has been conducting field studies of the key technologies, hardware designs, strategies, and human factors relevant to the future exploration of Mars by robots and humans. "The human exploration of Mars has become technically possible and, in the opinion of some, politically desirable and scientifically imperative; however, humans on Mars will be faced with great challenges and their voyage will require preparations for extended surface stays and a substantial program of field exploration in a hostile environment."

Lee initiated the NASA Haughton-Mars Project while a National Research Council Postdoctoral Research Associate at the NASA Ames Research Center, and has led seven expeditions to the Arctic since the beginning of the project. More information on the NASA Haughton-Mars Project is available on the web at <www.marsonearth.org>.

Lee's research interests focus on Mars, asteroids, and impact craters. He is particularly interested in the geologic history of Mars, the history of water on that planet, and the geologic and physical conditions that allow life to arise and evolve on planets. His field research also led him to spend 14 consecutive months in 1988 and 1989 at Dumont d'Urville Station in Antarctica as the station geophysicist. In addition, he was a field team member on the U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites program in 1995 and 1996 and a field scientist for the NASA / Carnegie Mellon University Robotic Antarctic Search for Meteorites project in 1998 and 1999.

Lee was born in Hong Kong in 1964, grew up in France, and came to the United States in 1989. He received an Ingénieur degree in 1987 in Engineering Geology and Geophysics from the University of Paris and a master's degree in 1993 and doctoral degree in 1997 in Astronomy and Space Sciences from Cornell University. He was awarded the United States Antarctic Service Medal in 1996.

The remaining events in the 2003 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science include:

• " 'Water Found on Mars'... the Story Behind the News" on 8 February by Christopher Shinohara and Heather Enos, managers with the Gamma Ray Spectrometer Odyssey Team in the Lunar and Planetary Lab at the University of Arizona
  
• "What Price a Martian? Human Limits to Exploring the Red Planet" on 15 February by James Pawelczyk, assistant professor of physiology and kinesiology at Penn State and a NASA astronaut;
  
• "Settling the Moon: The Challenges and the Possible Rewards" on 22 February by Jim Burke, an aeronautical engineer with the the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and an advisor to the Planetary Society; and
  
• "Mars Direct: Humans to the Red Planet within a Decade" on 1 March by Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society.
  

The Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science are sponsored by the Penn State Eberly College of Science. Additional financial support for the Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science is provided by Pfizer Inc.

Thomas Building is located at the intersection of Pollock and Shortlidge Roads on the Penn State University Park Campus. Free parking is available in the Eisenhower Parking Deck behind Eisenhower Auditorium on Shortlidge Road. For more information or access assistance, contact the Eberly College of Science Office of Public Information by telephone at (814) 863-8453, by e-mail at science@psu.edu, or click on the web link at <http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/frontiers/>

[ B K K ]