Events

Thursday 29 February 2024

Spring Research Lecture: "Astrobiology at the European Space Agency"

• Speaker: Dr. Nicol Caplin. Deep Space Exploration Scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA)
• Time: 3.00pm – 4.00pm (GMT)
• Location: Sir Bob Burgess Building Room 1.04

Dr. Nicol Caplin is a Deep Space Exploration Scientist at the European Space Agency's Department for Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration, specialising in life in extreme environments. Originally from London, she studied Environmental Science at the University of the West of England, Bristol and later completed a PhD in plant biology. During her early research she travelled to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to discover more about the effects radiation has on plant life thirty years post-nuclear disaster.

Shortly after, her work extended beyond Earth and she performed experiments with seeds flown on board the International Space Station during British ESA astronaut Tim Peake's Principia mission. To date, she has been deeply involved in the scientific coordination of European astrobiology experiments destined for the ISS, lunar orbit and lunar surface, with the goal of helping humanity understand how biology fares out in space, if it exists beyond our planet and if we could someday sustain a human presence on the Moon or beyond.