Ernest Fox Nichols Public Lecture 2017 Physics Distinguished Alumni Lecturer Dr. Alicia Allbaugh, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory "Curiously Roving on Mars: Overview of the Mars Science Laboratory Project" The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft launched in November of 2011 and landed on Mars on August 5, 2012. Since then, the Curiosity rover has driven over 15 kilometers, sampled a few sand dunes and drilled into more than a dozen rocks. This talk will present an overview of the mission, its objectives and discoveries, as well as a few of the challenges along the way. Dr. Allbaugh will bring a rover wheel model and a functional prototype of the Mars Pathfinder rover Sojourner. February 7, 2017 4:30 p.m. 101 Cardwell Hall