92 | Kevin Hand on Life Elsewhere in the Solar System

92 | Kevin Hand on Life Elsewhere in the Solar System

It's hard doing science when you only have one data point, especially when that data point is subject to an enormous selection bias. That's the situation faced by people studying the nature and prevalence of life in the universe. The only biosphere we know about is our own, and our knowing anything at all is predicated on its existence, so it's unclear how much it can teach us about the bigger picture. That's why it's so important to search for life elsewhere. Today's guest is Kevin Hand, a planetary scientist and astrobiologist who knows as much as anyone about the prospects for finding life right in our planetary backyard, on moons and planets in the Solar System. We talk about how life comes to be, and reasons why it might be lurking on Europa, Titan, or elsewhere.

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Kevin Hand received his Ph.D. in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University. He is currently Deputy Chief Scientist for Solar System Exploration at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He has collaborated with director James Cameron, and is a frequent consultant on films, including acting as a science advisor to the movie Europa Report. His a cofounder of Cosmos Education, a non-profit organization devoted to science education in developing countries. His new book is Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space.


Episoder(418)

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274 | Gizem Gumuskaya on Building Robots from Human Cells

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273 | Stefanos Geroulanos on the Invention of Prehistory

273 | Stefanos Geroulanos on the Invention of Prehistory

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272 | Leslie Valiant on Learning and Educability in Computers and People

272 | Leslie Valiant on Learning and Educability in Computers and People

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AMA | April 2024

AMA | April 2024

Welcome to the April 2024 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patre...

8 Apr 20243h 14min

271 | Claudia de Rham on Modifying General Relativity

271 | Claudia de Rham on Modifying General Relativity

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1 Apr 20241h 21min

270 | Solo: The Coming Transition in How Humanity Lives

270 | Solo: The Coming Transition in How Humanity Lives

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269 | Sahar Heydari Fard on Complexity, Justice, and Social Dynamics

269 | Sahar Heydari Fard on Complexity, Justice, and Social Dynamics

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