News from the solar system

It may be our closest neighborhood, and the names have been familiar to us since childhood – but there is still a lot to explore and learn in our solar system. With the help of our 360° technology, we embark on a journey to three members of the solar system: the Moon, Venus and Mars. As part of the international Europlanet Science Congress 2024, Europe's largest conference on planetary research, we will be hosting three scientists who will tell us more about their field of research.

The event will be held in English and consists 360° projection as well as conventional presentation. After the presentation, there will be a possibility for questions.

1) What's up on Mars? 
(Dr. Baptiste Chide, IRAP, Toulouse)
These are truly extraordinary times! To dates, 2 rovers are operational at the surface of Mars and are methodically exploring the planet with three main objectives: follow the water, explore the habitability and seek for traces of ancient life. Among them, the Perseverance rover represents a significant leap forward in Mars exploration: it collects rock and soil samples from an ancient lake environment, which will be returned back to Earth within 10 years. This presentation will highlight the rover's innovative technologies, its ongoing scientific discoveries, and the broader implications of these findings for future human exploration of Mars.

2) Planetary exploration at ESA and unlocking the mysteries of Venus
(Dr. Anne Grete Straume, ESA/ESTEC)
Venus is known by many as our bright »Morning and Evening star«, and has been at the hearth of religious devotion as well as scientific investigations to measure and understand our solar system and the universe beyond. Although the first successful mission to another planet was the NASA Mariner-2 fly-by of Venus in 1962, there have been far less missions to Venus through time than for example to Mars. One reason is that Venus is difficult to explore, due to its massive acid droplet cloud deck and scorching temperatures on-ground. Therefore, Venus still holds many secrets about its history and present state, including the possibilities to host life. EnVision will be ESA’s next satellite to Venus, in partnership with NASA, observing the planet from its inner core up to its upper atmosphere. In this talk, the history of Venus observations and the mysteries to be unlocked by EnVision will be presented, together with a brief overview of ESA’s satellite missions observing our solar system and planets beyond.

3) Exploration of the Moon 
(Dr. Mark Wieczorek, IPGP, Université Paris Cité)
The origin of the Earth and Moon are closely intertwined, and the exploration of our closest celestial neighbor has played an important role in how we understand our solar system. In this talk, I will summarize some of the key events in humankind’s exploration of the Moon. These include the first drawings made by Galileo, the first images taken of the farside of the Moon, the Apollo moon landings, and subsequent robotic space probes that were put in orbit or that landed on the surface. Despite all of these missions, many aspects of the Moon’s origin and evolution remain poorly understood.

Admission is free. Reservations are recommended in advance  by e-mail at ticket@planetarium.berlin or by phone at +49 (30) 421 845 10. The event will be held in English. 

Der Eintritt ist frei. Eine Reservierung wird vorab per Mail ticket@planetarium.berlin oder telefonisch +49 (30) 421 845 10 empfohlen. Die Veranstaltung findet in englischer Sprache statt.