This is a firsthand account of the trials and tribulations of engineering one of the most complex pieces of space technology, the Mars Rover Curiosity by its chief Engineer, Rob Manning. Manning learned the challenges of leading an army of brilliant, passionate and often frustrated experts. He and his team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory conquered technical setbacks and inadequate resources to create the Mars Rover Curiosity, a groundbreaking lander many times larger and more complex than any before.

The Mars Rover Curiosity has revolutionized the art and science of exploring and collecting data from planets. It has given us insight into the ancient history of Mars as well as that of our own planet Earth. Mars Rover Curiosity provides the history of the rover from inception to successful landing, as well as Curiosity’s scientific findings thus far. This is the story of persistence, dedication, and unrelenting curiosity.

Manning is a graduate of Caltech and Whitman College. He has received three NASA medals and is the Aviation Week Magazine Space Laureate Hall of Fame at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. He has been working JPL over 30 years. Manning now leads the engineering for the Mars Program Office and is chief engineer on a project to develop technologies for landing even larger robotic vehicles on Mars with hopes of eventually landing future astronauts and scientists there.

Seating is limited and reservations are required.
Please call reservations (M-F, 10am-4pm) at (516) 572-4066.
Refreshments will be served