Life on Mars: A Cultural History

Presented virtually via Zoom webinar.
 
Is there life on Mars? What is at stake when we ask this question? This persistent scientific riddle has had different meanings in different historical eras. In the early twentieth century the American astronomer Percival Lowell claimed an intelligent civilization had built canals there. At the dawn of the space age scientists dispatched their first probes expecting to discover hardy vegetation. Today NASA rovers comb the surface looking only for traces of microbial life.
 
Examining these different eras of Mars exploration, we learn how the question of life has factored into different social and cultural movements here on Earth. These include theological debates, military conquest, scientific research, and most recently, commercial settlement. This historical perspective reveals how human plans for the Red Planet have evolved over time and deepens our understanding of both our important cosmic neighbor and the ongoing search for life in the universe.
 
The Speaker:

Jordan Bimm, PhD
Linda Hall Library Residential Fellow, 2018-19

 
Jordan Bimm is Assistant Instructional Professor of Science Communication and Public Discourse at the University of Chicago. Originally from Toronto, Canada, he is a historian of science focused on U.S. space exploration who specializes in space medicine and astrobiology. His research investigates big questions like Who should go to space? and What happens if we discover extraterrestrial life?
 
His work has been published in academic journals including Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences (HSNS) and Social Studies of Science (SSS) and popularized in The New York Times, Scientific American, and The Atlantic. His research has won the Sacknoff Prize for Space History, the History of Science Society’s NASA Fellowship, a Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Fellowship at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and the David Edge Prize for Social Studies of Science. In 2023 he was selected as a NASA Astrobiology Program and American Philosophical Society Lewis and Clark Fund Field Scholar.
 
At the University of Chicago, he teaches courses on science communication as well as the history of science and space exploration. He also directs a space science communication research unit called Capsule Communicator which focuses on issues surrounding possible detections of biosignatures and technosignatures. He recently served as co-lead organizer for the NASA Astrobiology Program-supported workshop Communicating Discoveries in the Search for Life in the Universe (CDSLU) and is a member of the SETI Institute’s Science Advisory Board.