Episode #104: Countdown to Mars

With all the excitement of this month in full swing - Hope Probe, Tianwen-1, and next up, Perseverance - it seemed only fitting to dedicate an episode to all things Mars! Enjoy this special, early-release episode with "professional martian" and Director of Science Strategy at Planet, Dr. Tanya Harrison.

We discuss the significance of the upcoming Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing on February 18th, how to bring positive change to toxic work cultures in the space industry, and Dr. Harrison's new book, For All Humankind: The Untold Stories of How the Moon Landing Inspired the World.

My guest on the show, Dr. Tanya Harrison, calls herself a “professional martian.” Over the past 13 years she has worked as a scientist and in mission operations on multiple NASA Mars missions, including the Perseverance, Curiosity, and Opportunity rovers. Her specialty lies in geomorphology: the study of a planet’s evolution based on its surface features. She holds a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Western Ontario, a Masters in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Wesleyan University, and a B.Sc. in Astronomy and Physics from the University of Washington. Currently she is the Director of Science Strategy for the federal arm of the Earth observing satellite company Planet Labs. Tanya is also an advocate for advancing the status of women in science and for accessibility in the geosciences. You can find her prolifically tweeting about the Red Planet—and her experiences with both #WomenInSTEM and #DisabledInSTEM—as @tanyaofmars.