Astroonomy Lecture - Space Exploration: From the Deserts of Egypt to Saturn's Moon Titan

Name: Astroonomy Lecture - Space Exploration: From the Deserts of Egypt to Saturn's Moon Titan
Start: 2026-03-27T20:00:00-07:00
Location: 1216 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA, United States, California 91125

Schedule

Fri, 27 Mar, 2026 at 08:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

1216 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA, United States, California 91125 | Pasadena, CA

What major discoveries has NASA made over the last 25 years of exploration in our Solar System? What are the conditions on Mars and the moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn? Join us for a 30-minute lecture by former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Director Charles Elachi (2001-2016) as he discusses some of the exciting discoveries made by NASA during his tenure as director.
This public astronomy event will be hosted both in-person as well as live-streamed over YouTube Live. The lecture will be 30 minutes, followed by a 90-minute session of telescope-aided stargazing and a Q&A Panel consisting of experts in the department on a variety of astronomy and astrophysical topics. You can attend in person or interact with us through the YouTube interface. Event is free and open to all, no reservations necessary.
For more information including a link to the YouTube Livestream and directions to Caltech, click on the poster image or visit our webpage: http://outreach.astro.caltech.edu
Title: Space Exploration and Discovery: From the Deserts of Egypt to Saturn's Moon Titan
Lecturer: Charles Elachi
Abstract:
The speaker will describe, from first hand experience, the fun and excitement of hosting a number of scientific missions of exploration undertaken by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. These include the Mars rovers and helicopter, discoveries of lakes on Saturn's Moon Titan, sounding for oceans under the ice shelf of Jupiter's moon Europa, uncovering buried ancient rivers in Egypt, and mapping earthquakes with the recent JPL NiSAR mission.