A recent program at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, focused on the critical question of whether life exists beyond Earth. This inquiry has significant implications for human understanding.
Read More
NASA's Viking program, launched in 1975, included two landers that made historic landings on Mars on July 20 and February 3, 1976. Each lander was equipped with three life detection experiments aimed at identifying active life on the Martian surface. To this day, the Viking landers remain the first and only spacecraft to have carried instruments designed for this purpose.
The findings from the Viking missions have sparked discussion and debate since their release 50 years ago. Recent presentations reviewed the Viking missions and their life detection experiments, while also outlining the U.S. plans for future human exploration of Mars.
Featured speakers included Dr. Ellen Stofan discussing the Viking legacy, Tom Young addressing unanswered questions from the missions, and Dr. Steven Benner arguing that the Viking missions likely detected life on Mars. Other speakers included Gentry Lee, Dr. Hans-Peter Biemann, and Dr. Joel S. Levine, who discussed the scientific goals for planned human missions to Mars.