Mars(Searching for past or present life on Mars)

Guest Speaker

Thursday, 6th October 2022 (19:45 - 22:00)

Venue: Hybrid

Since leaving Oxford in November 2021, Colin Wilson has been employed by the European Space Agency at their ESTEC facility in the Netherlands.

He is currently the ESA's Project Scientist for the ExoMars 2016 mission and investigates the terrestrial planets of our solar system, Venus, Mars, and Titan. He created instrumentation for atmospheric science on Mars landers. For the 2003 Beagle 2 and 2016 ExMars EDM Mars landers, he constructed, calibrated, and provided wind sensors in a partnership between Oxford University's Engineering Science and Physics departments.

Speaker: Colin Wilson

I study the terrestrial worlds of our solar system: Venus, Mars, and Titan.

- Currently, I serve as the project scientist for two ESA Mars orbiters: ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (link is external) and Mars Express.

-I have created instrumentation for atmospheric science on Mars landers. I created, calibrated, and provided wind sensors for the 2003 Beagle 2 and 2016 ExMars EDM Mars landers as part of a collaboration between Oxford University's Engineering Science and Physics departments.

- I've created mission ideas for planetary exploration in the future, especially Venus mission ideas like the EnVision Venus Orbiter (link is external).

- I was Science Operations Co-ordinator for ESA's Venus Express satellite (link is external).

- I investigated Venus's cloud characteristics, winds, and radiative balance using Venus Express data.

- For the Titan Dragonfly mission, I worked with the Johns Hopkins University / Applied Physics Lab to design a wind sensor.

- Since joining the Department of Physics' teaching faculty in 2013, I have co-supervised a number of PhD students as well as overseen projects for undergraduate students.