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The second speaker for this seminar series will be Dr. David Kring, a member of the NLSI team from the Lunar & Planetary Institute in Houston, TX.
The Lunar Cataclysm Hypothesis & Implications for the Entire Solar System
OVERVIEW: One of the grand intellectual legacies of the Apollo Program is the lunar cataclysm hypothesis, which suggests the Earth-Moon system was severely bombarded ~3.9-4.0 billion years ago. In the post-Apollo era, that concept has been repeatedly tested with additional sample analyses and photogeologic analyses. Those data are consistent with the lunar cataclysm hypothesis and further suggest the bombardment affected the entire inner solar system. An important source of that bombardment appears to be asteroids that were perturbed when Jupiter’s orbit shifted and resonances swept through the asteroid belt. Thus, analyses of lunar surface samples are providing clues to the evolution of both the inner and outer solar system. Testing this hypothesis remains the nation’s highest science priority for lunar exploration.
SPEAKER BIO: Dr. Kring specializes in impact cratering processes produced when asteroids and comets collide with planetary surfaces. Kring is perhaps best known for his work with the discovery of the Chicxulub impact crater, which he linked to the K-T boundary mass extinction of dinosaurs and over half of the plants and animals that existed on Earth 65 million years ago. He has also studied the environmental effects of impact cratering and shown how impact processes can affect both the geological and biological evolution of a planet. Pushing back the cloak of time farther, he has explored how impact cratering may have affected the early evolution of the Earth-Moon system. Kring has suggested that an intense period of impact bombardment may have affected the origin and early evolution of life on Earth. Dr. Kring has also led a joint academic-industry-NASA design team for a robotic lunar lander and rover system that can be deployed anywhere on the lunar surface. He is particularly interested in the interfaces between science, exploration, and operations, to ensure our nation’s return to the Moon maximizes productivity while enhancing safety and efficiencies during robotic and crew operations.
More information on Dr. Kring is available at http://www.lpi.usra.edu/nlsi/teamMembers/kring/
WHEN:Tuesday, December 1, 2009. 9:00 AM Pacific.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
TO JOIN USING A VIDEOCONFERENCING SYSTEM:
Please RSVP to Delia Santiago (Delia.L.Santiago@nasa.gov) if you will be joining by Polycom. Do not connect to the teleconference if you will be joining by Polycom.
To view the slides, connect to http://nasa-nai.acrobat.com/nlsi_director_seminars/
TO JOIN USING PHONE and WEB BROWSER:
The slides for this meeting will be presented using Adobe Connect. To join the meeting, connect to http://nasa-nai.acrobat.com/nlsi_director_seminars/
The teleconference number will be displayed when joining the meeting.
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