Dr Bridge passionately explained her work to more than 250 people at a presentation at the Clifford Community Center hosted by the Clifford Rotary Club. The presentation included her role in studying Mars with the Curiosity Rover.
The Curiosity Rover is a car-sized, third-generation rover designed to explore Gale Crater on Mars by analyzing rock, soil and air samples.
The event was also attended by the Mayor and Councilors of the City of Mindo, Wellington County Councilor Dave Anderson, MPP Mathew Rae and Rotarians from Clifford, Wiarton, Mildmay and Walkerton. Dr. Bridge explained that Mars is currently a cold and inhospitable planet, but that three to four billion years ago, the planet had Earth-like lakes. The Curiosity Rover set out to answer the question: Did Mars ever have the right environmental conditions to support tiny life forms called microbes? The rover has the ability to determine weather, remove material from samples, and has a sample scoop and multiple cameras, enabling it to take selfies and analyze samples. The Curiosity Rover has been exploring for nearly ten years since landing on Mars. Some key findings include: – rounded pebbles that were probably made by water and carried by stream up to 15 miles. – Gale Crater had the ability to support life. – lakes have existed in Gale Crater for millions of years. and – Mars was habitable and could support life three or four billion years ago. Dr. Bridge answered questions and described future planned NASA missions to explore Jupiter, Venus, an asteroid called Psyche, which lies between Mars and Jupiter, and further exploration of Mars. Dr. Bridge was honored by the turnout and thanked the community.
The event was free, however attendees donated over $2,000 in support of Ukraine. Presentation Clifford – Dr. Carrie Bridge with her parents and Clifford Rotarians. From left: front, Minto Mayor George Bridge, Dr. Carrie Bridge, Sue Bridge and Randy Ruetz. back, Larry Grummet, Karen Dowler, Carol Ann Rams, Al Rams, Sharon Kaufman, Bruce Kaufman and Trish Ruetz. Photo submitted Dr. Carrie Bridge grew up in southwestern Ontario, has a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Toronto, postdoctoral research at Caltech, and currently holds several positions at NASA, including science operations team leader for the Mars Curiosity rover and director of science design. She is the daughter of Minto Mayor George Bridge and Sue Bridge. For more information about the Mars exploration program, the Mars Curiosity Rover, the route of travel, and exploration sites, go to mars.nasa.gov/msl/home/. – Submitted by Susan Thurston