NASA Scientist to Discuss "The Future of Planetary Surface Exploration" at Library of Congress Lecture

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Oct 12, 2016, 09:08 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The public is invited to a free talk called "The Future of Planetary Surface Exploration" with NASA Research Scientist Kelsey Young in the Pickford Theater, third floor, Madison Building, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT.

One aspect of preparing for a new generation of crewed planetary exploration missions will be designing tools and technologies to rapidly collect and interpret geochemical and geophysical data. "These technologies will need to have the flexibility to be used in different capacities during spaceflight and will need to be incorporated into astronaut extravehicular activities," Young said.

Young studies planetary field geology through a combination of investigations at terrestrial sites with laboratory work on samples collected from those sites. She also investigates the use of portable geochemical instrumentation in conducting field geology, both on Earth and in planetary exploration. She has a postdoctoral research position through the RIS4E SSERVI team investigating these issues and is serving on the FINESSE team as a collaborator from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The Library of Congress maintains one of the largest and most diverse collections of scientific and technical information in the world. The Science, Technology and Business Division provides reference and bibliographic services and develops the general collections of the library in all areas of science, technology, business and economics. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/.

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world and holds nearly 151.8 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The library serves Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov.

For inquiries about this or upcoming talks at the Library of Congress, the public can contact the LOC Science, Technology and Business Division at 202-707-5664. ADA accommodations should be requested five business days in advance at 202-707-6382 (voice/tty) or [email protected].

The lecture will be later broadcast on the library's webcast page and YouTube channel "Topics in Science" playlist.

For directions, visit: http://www.loc.gov/visit/maps-and-floor-plans/

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SOURCE NASA