EPISODE 2 OF SPACE ON THE PAGE!

Space on the Page is a podcast series hosted by David Baron and Lucas Mix, both holders of the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation at the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress.

In Space on the Page, Baron and Mix interview authors who write about space exploration and the search for life outside of Earth. Baron is joined by nonfiction science writers who share their perspective and expertise on the past, present, and future of human efforts to understand and explore the universe. Mix talks with scientists as well as science fiction authors who show how the human imagination depicts everything that we anticipate, hope, and fear about what is currently unknown.

Episode 2 (David Baron) – The Search for Life on Mars

An interview with Dr. Sarah Stewart Johnson about the role of Mars in answering that deepest of questions: Are we alone?

“There was a specific moment in the 90s that really ramped things up. And that was when there was this piece of Mars, this rock from Mars, that was picked up in Antarctica. It came to Earth as a meteorite. It was such a huge moment…"

David Baron, Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation, is joined by scientist Sarah Stewart Johnson to talk about the ongoing search for life on Mars, and the possibility that the red planet has been home to life in the past. From the presence of water to possible fossilized remnants of ancient life, and even new understandings of life on Earth, scientists are shedding new light on what kind of life could have existed in the seemingly-inhospitable Martian environment. Baron and Johnson discuss how missions to Mars and scientific discoveries have changed our perspective on what still might be found there.

Sarah Stewart Johnson, author of the highly praised The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World (to be released in paperback July 20, 2021). Sarah is a biologist and geochemist at Georgetown University who is searching for microbial life on Mars. Her book is a lyrical blend of science, history, and personal narrative.

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