Life on and off Earth, from Rotorua

Galactic Conversations is a Milky-Way.kiwi podcast

Hosted by

Haritina Mogosanu and Samuel Leske, and for this episode we are joined by Katie Paul-Tapsell.

Special thanks to Rhian Sheehan for kindly providing his stellar music.

Galactic Conversations was made in collaboration with the New Zealand Astrobiology Network and Space Place at Carter Observatory

The first astrobiology international meeting ever to be held in New Zealand was in Rotorua, in June 2018. What is astrobiology, you might ask and why in Rotorua New Zealand?

Find out what’s an astrobiologist, why should one visit New Zealand, how the hot springs here in Rotorua are putting it on the astrobiology map, what are NASA plans for sending people on Mars and what you need to do to work there at NASA, jobs of the future, Twizel and artificial intelligence.

Guests:

• Dr Mitch Schulte  – Program Scientist with the Mars Exploration Program in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.
• Dr Lindsay Hays  – Deputy Program Scientist for NASA’s Astrobiology Program
• Dr Seth Shostak – Senior Astronomer SETI Institute and producer of the Big Picture Science radio show and podcast.

About the Astrobiology Australasia Meeting 2018

The first international astrobiology conference to be held in New Zealand took place over two days and was attended by 80 astrobiologists. It was preceded by an astrobiology teacher’s workshop and continued with a special field trip on the Taupo Volcanic Zone and an Astrobiology Grand Tour in Western Australia.

To find out more about astrobiology in New Zealand keep an eye on the New Zealand Astrobiology Network website and also visit Space Place at Carter Observatory in Wellington.