Library partners with NASA, hosting virtual events to highlight Mars Perseverance rover landing

The Homewood Public Library is partnering with NASA and NASA @My Library to offer virtual events to highlight the upcoming Mars Perseverance rover landing. 

The Perseverance rover was launched in July 2020 and is set to land on Mars on Thursday, Feb. 18. The main goal of the rover is to collect soil and rock samples while also seeking signs of ancient life. 

The library will host three NASA Solar System ambassadors, each focusing on different aspects of the mission, leading up to Thursday's Mars Perseverance rover landing. 

“Our community has always had a love of space, so we were thrilled when this opportunity was presented to us,” said Judith Wright, assistant director of the Homewood Public Library and Project Manager of the Library’s NASA @My Library grant.

In 2017, the Homewood Public Library was one of 75 libraries in the US and the only library in the State of Alabama to be awarded the NASA @My Library grant. This partnership allowed for the Library to host the three virtual events. The library hopes the virtual discussions will excite the community about this upcoming scientific achievement, Wright said. 

The library is hosting the following events:

NASA's Perseverance Mars Lander

Monday, February 15, at 2 p.m. on Zoom

To help celebrate the upcoming landing of the Perseverance Rover on Mars, the Homewood Public Library is partnering with NASA and the NASA @My Library grant to host a series of virtual events about the landing. On Monday, Kevin Gallagher, a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, will discuss the mission and if we would be able to live on Mars. 

Register at https://homewoodpubliclibrary.org/event/4894175 

All About Mars Perseverance Mission

Tuesday, February 16, at 2:00 p.m. on Zoom

Follow the Perseverance mission to Mars! The Mars Perseverance rover will land on Mars on Thursday, February 18. It will seek signs of ancient life, collect rock samples for later return to Earth, and help pave the way for eventual visits by humans. Learn more about the mission, its components (including the Ingenuity helicopter) and its objectives. Ask questions of NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador volunteer Carole Holmberg. Holmberg is a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador and Planetarium Manager at the Museum of York County in Rock Hill, South Carolina. 

Register at https://homewoodpubliclibrary.org/event/4889683

Perseverance Rover Landing Explained

Wednesday, February 17, at 1 p.m. on Zoom

Join us the day before the Mars Perseverance rover landing and learn even more about this big event. Ken Brandt, Director of the Robeson Planetarium and Science Center and NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, will lead Wednesday's talk and discussion. Register online at https://homewoodpubliclibrary.org/event/4892485

Submitted by Judith Wright.