SPACE SCIENCE COLLOQUIUM （66th）
Date：January 9, 2024, 15:30
Venue：Sun Yat-sen University, Haiqin Building No. 2, Room A218
Title：The "Early" and "Late" Issues of Martian Geological and Environmental Evolution and Research Progress
Lecturer：Researcher Liu Yang
Host：Professor Xiao Zhiyong
Abstract
Mars is the most Earth-like planet in the solar system, and because of its habitable environment and potential traces of life, it has become one of the main targets of deep space exploration in the solar system. There is still no consensus on the early climate models of Mars, but the widespread development of aqueous geomorphology and hydrous minerals indicates that there was at least a period of warm and humid conditions on early Mars. However, the duration of this period and the driving mechanisms behind it remain unclear. The climate of Mars during the Amazonian period has shifted from warm and humid to predominantly dry and cold, thus, liquid water activity has been very limited in the late stages of Mars, although some signs of water activity may still exist. This report will discuss the scientific questions and recent research progress on the "early" and "late" geological and environmental evolution of Mars.
Speaker Introduction: Liu Yang, a researcher and doctoral supervisor at the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. He graduated with a Ph.D. from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, USA, and mainly engages in lunar and planetary science research. He has been selected for the National Ten Thousand Talents Program and the Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He serves as an assistant chief scientist for China's Lunar Exploration Phase IV, a member of the expert group for the scientific research and application system demonstration of China's manned lunar exploration, and a secretary group member of the expert committee for China's first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 and lunar sample return mission. He has published over 50 papers in journals including Nature Astronomy and Science Advances. His achievements were selected for CCTV's Top Ten Scientific and Technological News of 2022, and he has received the second prize of the Beijing Natural Science Award (ranked first individually).
