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Second Nature Lecture Series 2008

ExoMars: Europe's Next Step in the Search for Life on Mars

Enhancing Me cover image
  • Speaker: Dr Jeff Marlow, Imperial College
  • Location: Second Nature Island
  • Date: Tuesday 5 August 2008
  • Time: 10am PDT, 6pm BST

Humanity has sought an answer to this question for thousands of years, but only recently has our technology become equal to the task. Mars has emerged as the most likely extraterrestrial destination to yield results in the near term, but despite multiple missions to the Red Planet, the question remains unanswered. ExoMars could change that: with its sophisticated life-detection payload and subsurface drill, the rover might just be the best hope yet to find life on Mars.

We were joined on August 5th by Jeff Marlow, Imperial College, to hear him talk about his work towards the ExoMars mission and his thoughts on finding life on Mars. Out of the lab, Jeff is one of our newest bloggers at Nature Network: do check out his blog for a wide range of space related stories.

Event details

 

About Second Nature Events

Going to an event at Second Nature

  • To attend an event at Second Nature, you need to have registered with Second Life and got an avatar. For step-by-step instructions on how to do this, see the Basics section. Once you have your avatar, you can jump straight to the Second Nature events area. It will open Second Life and take you straight there. We recommend arriving 10 minutes early for the talk to get a good seat and ensure you can hear the speaker.

How to listen to the lectures inworld

  • We currently give lectures using Voice Chat. This is inbuilt into Second Life and lets anyone speak through a microphone and be heard by others. To hear our speaker, you need to make sure that your Voice Chat is enabled. To do this, go into Second Life, then go to Edit --> Preferences. Select the tab and ensure that the Enable Voice Chat box is checked. If it is your first time using voice, you will be guided through to make sure it is set up properly. When it is activated, you will see a white dot about their head. When someone is speaking through their voice, you should be able to see green sound waves coming from the white dot. We always arrive at talks early to test the voice and help out anyone having difficulties. The speaker gives the talk and answers questions using voice: we ask the audience not to speak in voice because it is distracting and difficult to hear two people talking at once. You can talk to each other and the speaker using the ordinary text chat box.

How to view presentations

  • The presentation slides are on a large screen at the front. To enlarge your view, press ALT and click on the screen. You should then be able to zoom in on the object you have clicked on (in this case, the screen).

How to communicate using text

  • When you log into Second Life, you will see a box at the bottom of the screen called Local Chat. To say something, type your message into there and press return. But don't worry - you will learn this and lots more when you first arrive in Second Life.

How to communicate using voice

  • To talk to people around you using voice, you need to have enabled voice as described above. Setting up voice will tell you which button to press (generally CONTROL) to open your microphone - everyone around you will then be able to hear. To stop talking, press your talk button again. It is considered good manners in Second Life to have your microphone closed at all times except when talking.

What to do if it's not working

  • It's best to turn up a bit early, then we can help if you can get voice or something else working - we're generally around from about half an hour before the talks. If you have any problems and need help at any time, email me at j.scott[at]nature.com, send me a message in Second Life - my avatar name is Joanna Wombat - or ask for help in our Second Nature forum at Nature Network

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Second Nature Events

  • Nature hosts talks and discussions on Second Nature. All events are free and open to all; no specialist knowledge is required.

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