Thirteen Years in the Dust: How a Robot Showed that Mars Was Once Habitable

Was life ever possible on Mars? The Curiosity rover, equipped with the most sophisticated scientific payload ever sent to the Red Planet, reached Mars in 2012 to find out. Join Ashwin Vasavada (PhD '98), project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory, which delivered Curiosity safely to the surface, as he recounts the rover's journey up the slopes of a Martian mountain whose rocky layers hold a record of the ancient past. He'll also share a behind-the-scenes look at the triumphs and challenges that are a part of the mission's legacy. The Curiosity rover is operated from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is managed by Caltech for NASA. About the Series: Since 1922, The Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series has brought Caltech's most innovative scientific research to the public. The series is named for Earnest C. Watson, a professor of physics at Caltech from 1919 until 1959. Spotlighting a small selection of the pioneering research Caltech's faculty is currently conducting, the Watson Lectures are geared toward a general audience, as part of the Institute's ongoing commitment to benefiting the local community through education and outreach. For more information on the Watson Lecture Series: https://caltech.edu/watson View other Watson Lectures: https://bit.ly/Caltech_Watson_Lectures Produced in association with Caltech Academic Media Technologies. ©2025 California Institute of Technology