The fourth of our PhysicsMeetup events, hosted by the Physics Department of Central Mindanao University, Bukidnon, Philippines, is taking place on  Saturday 10 April at 1:00 AM Italian Time (8:00 AM Philippines Time).

This virtual event will be held via zoom and livestreamed on Facebook. For further information on how to access the event, kindly visit https://www.facebook.com/physicsmeetup

About the Talk:

On August 5, 2012, at about 10:30 p.m. Pacific Time, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) began its mission to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support microbial life. Also known as the Curiosity rover, MSL was the most sophisticated piece of technology ever sent to our neighboring red planet, equipped with 10 scientific payloads, a total of 17 cameras, an arm, a drill, and a battery powered by heat from naturally decaying radioactive material. With this suite of instruments and capabilities, Curiosity is able to perform as a geologist and geochemist, in addition to atmospheric scientist and particle physicist. However, although the rover is able to perform the functions of all these scientific roles, it actually takes the collaborative effort of over 500 people to "move the joystick" behind the scenes. Join Gregorio as he sheds light on what it really takes to operate a rover on Mars.

 

 

About the Speaker:

Gregorio is a Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He held several roles on the Mars Science Laboratory flight project that provided him experience in all phases of the mission. Gregorio tested operations for launch, cruise and landing and worked Mars time surface operations with the responsibility of planning rover activities daily. In addition, He tested software for the sampling system using Curiosity’s twin test rover on Earth. Recently, Gregorio has spent the past 7.5 years working on the Mars 2020 flight project and was part of the team that safely landed the Perseverance rover on Mars.
Gregorio graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Physics from the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and a Master’s degree in Astronautical Engineering from the University of Southern California. Fun Facts: Gregorio has traveled to 18 countries and he absolutely loves sushi.