[AANC Contacts] Protecting the Planet from Alien Microbes: Public Talk April 22 at Foothill College

[Andrew Fraknoi]

First Announcement for Newsletter and Web Sites:

Public Lecture, Open to Everyone
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     On Wednesday, April 22, at 7 pm,
Dr. Margaret Race, one of the leading experts
on the contamination danger and the protection
of planets, will give a non-technical, illustrated
talk on:
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Planetary Protection and Hitchhikers in the Solar System:
	The Danger of Mingling Microbes
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as part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
in the Smithwick Theater, Foothill College,
El Monte Road and Freeway 280,
in Los Altos Hills, California.

Free and open to the public.
Parking on campus costs $2.

Call the series hot-line at 650-949-7888 for
more information and driving directions.

No background in science will be required for
this talk.  Seating is first come, first served.
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Scientists searching for life elsewhere have to worry
about avoiding harmful cross contamination during the
exploration of planets and their moons.  We don't
want to take Earth microbes to Mars or bring back
alien microbes to Earth. In this timely talk, Dr. Race
will give a behind-the-scenes view of "environmental
management" planning for solar system missions, and
explain the role of the Outer Space Treaty and
other related national and international policies.  She will
also discuss the varied societal issues likely to arise from
discoveries about life beyond the Earth -- issues about the
meaning of  life, its future evolutionary trajectory, and
environmental sustainability in the universe.

Dr. Race is an ecologist at the SETI Institute who works
with NASA and the international space community to
develop, refine, and apply planetary protection policies
to missions to the planets. She has organized and edited
proceedings for a number of conferences in this field,
and served on panels evaluating contamination danger
for the National Research Council. She has a strong
interest in communicating science to the public, having
worked at both the Environmental Protection Agency
and KQED Television.

The lecture is co-sponsored by:
* NASA Ames Research Center
* The Foothill College Astronomy Program
* The SETI Institute
* The Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

This talk is part of the local events celebrating the International
Year of Astronomy in 2009.

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Past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are now available
in MP3 format at:
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html