Following a 205-day journey, NASA’s InSight Mars Lander is set to touch down on Mars to begin a thorough exploration of the planet’s inner space – and the landing will be streamed live at Qatar National Library on 26 November. The InSight Mission will be NASA’s first Mars landing since 2012, and will be watched live by millions worldwide.
The event will start at 10:00 PM with a lecture on landing on planets by Dr. Essam Heggy, Research Scientist in Earth and Planetary Sciences and a member of several Space Missions. Attendees will have the chance to have live conversations with scientists from NASA about the landing and the wider mission. The landing is scheduled to take place at 11:00 PM (Doha time).
Astronomy enthusiasts, students, scientists and the general public are encouraged to attend the event by registering online in advance, and collecting access cards from the Library. Since the event will take place after hours, attendance will not be possible unless access cards have been collected in advance.
Dr. Nouf Khashman, Outreach and Community Engagement Manager at Qatar National Library, said: ‘Providing diverse learning opportunities is a fundamental part of our work at the Library. The Science Book Forum enables young learners to foster skills that will help them pursue careers in science. Such events play an important role in encouraging discovery and imagination among the youth in Qatar.’
The event is part of the Library’s Science Book Forum, chaired by Dr. Essam Heggy, which aims to help young minds develop a lasting interest in reading science books.
Dr. Heggy, said: ‘Every landing is a challenging moment for the whole space science community. Insight will try to answer crucial scientific questions on Mars interior and how it is different from the one of our planet. This will bring new insights on Mars formation and evolution that remains largely unconstrained.’
The Library will close at 8:00 PM on 26 November, and re-open for the event at 9:30 PM. To register, please visit: https://events.qnl.qa/sbf-nov18/EN
