Professor Sara Seager, MIT, on Exoplanets, Starshade and Life on Venus

10 Jun

Professor Sara Seager is an astrophysicist and a Professor of Physics, Professor of Planetary Science, and a Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she holds the Class of 1941 Professor Chair. She has been a pioneer in the vast and unknown world of exoplanets, planets that orbit stars other than the sun. Her ground-breaking research ranges from the detection of exoplanet atmospheres to innovative theories about life on other worlds to development of novel space mission concepts.

In space missions for planetary discovery and exploration, she was the Deputy Science Director of the MIT-led NASA Explorer-class mission TESS; she was PI of the JPL-MIT CubeSat ASTERIA; is a lead of the Starshade Rendezvous Mission (a space-based direct imaging exoplanet discovery concept under technology development) to find a true Earth analog orbiting a Sun-like star; and most recently has directed a mission concept study to find signs of life or life itself in the Venus atmosphere and is PI of a small mission to Venus targeted for launch in 2023.

Her research earned her a MacArthur "genius" grant and other accolades including: membership in the US National Academy of Sciences; the Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences; the Magellanic Premium Medal; and she has been awarded one of Canada's highest civilian honors, appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada. Professor Seager is the author of "The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir".

What you will hear in this episode

Introduction to Episode 40, and to Sara Seager
Starshade
What is an exoplanet, when was the first one detected and how many are there?
When Sara started her career chasing exoplanets, and scepticism around exoplanets
How many planets in the universe could support human life?
The science behind Interstellar
Do we have to send humans or robots to exoplanets?
The solar gravitational telescope (hypothetical)
Proxima Centauri, how long it would take to get there, and Starshot
How people react to committing to finding another Earth
How Sara plans her work, and ASTERIA
Is there life on Venus, and the world's reaction to finding life on Venus?
Are we alone in the universe?
"The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir"
Optimism, and advice to young people