LeadingAge Missouri

Planetary Science - Tiny Moon, Big Questions - Free Activity Event
2025-12-17 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago)
Our next senior living community outreach event is scheduled for Thursday, December 17 at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT. This is a rescheduling of our October event – please see below for additional details. I have also attached an updated schedule, including a new date for our cancelled November event.

Talk Title: “Tiny Moon, Big Questions: The Astrobiology of Enceladus”
Talk Description:

Saturn’s tiny icy moon Enceladus has become one of the most exciting places in the solar system in the search for life beyond Earth. Beneath its frozen crust lies a global subsurface ocean, venting water and organic compounds into space through dramatic geysers. Thanks to NASA’s Cassini spacecraft (1997-2017), which flew through these plumes, we know that Enceladus hosts the essential ingredients for life as we know it: liquid water, energy, and complex organic chemistry. But is there anything living in this distant world?

In this talk, NASA Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Erin Gibbons will explore the astrobiological potential of Enceladus, including how it was discovered, what Cassini revealed, and why scientists consider it one of the most promising places to search for extraterrestrial life. Along the way, we’ll connect Enceladus to the broader field of astrobiology (the study of life in the universe) and highlight future missions that could one day dive deeper into its hidden ocean.

Speaker: Dr. Erin Gibbons (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
Speaker Bio: Dr. Erin F. Gibbons is an astrobiologist and organic geochemist whose research explores how organic molecules form, persist, and leave traces in extreme environments. She has conducted fieldwork in Antarctica and in glacial fields in Iceland to study planetary analogs, and she previously operated the Mars rover Perseverance as part of NASA’s mission science team. Dr. Gibbons earned her Ph.D. in Earth & Planetary Sciences from McGill University and is now a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where she investigates the astrobiological potential of worlds like Mars and the icy moons of the outer solar system. She is also dedicated to science communication and inspiring the next generation of explorers.
Webinar Connection Info:

Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 230 325 978 650 1
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Join by phone: +1-256-715-9946 (phone conference ID: 239 050 881#)
