McDonnell Hall, Washington University - St. Louis

7:30pm Friday, January 19, 2024

ASU Explores the Solar System

  NASA’s program for Solar System Exploration has been active since the 1960s, with robotic spacecraft, including flybys, orbiters, landers, rovers, and sample return, visiting many of the major planets, as well as dwarf planets and asteroids and comets.  Arizona State University (ASU, Phoenix-Tempe) has been a leader in planetary geology research for decades, along with St. Louis’ own Washington University. What current missions and destinations are in NASA’s plans?  Join Dr. David Williams, research professor in ASU’s  School of Earth and Space Exploration, for a deep dive into the various missions exploring the Solar System this decade and beyond!

Dr. David A. Williams is a Research Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. David is currently performing research in volcanology and planetary geology, with a focus on planetary mapping, remote sensing, and computer modeling studies. He was involved with NASA’s Magellan Mission to Venus, Galileo Mission to Jupiter, Dawn Mission to asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, and ESA’s Mars Express orbiter.  He is currently Deputy Imager Lead on NASA’s Psyche Mission.  David is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and asteroid 10,461 DAWILLIAMS was named in his honor.

The meeting will begin at 7:30 PM Friday, January 19 in McDonnell Hall, Room 162, on the Danforth campus of Washington University, Saint Louis, MO 63105. McDonnell Hall is accessible from Forsyth Boulevard via Tolman Way. Free yellow zone and garage parking spaces are available. The event will also be available via Zoom online conference.

For the Zoom link, please send a request to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The event, cosponsored by NASA's Missouri Space Grant Consortium, is open to the public free of charge.

Meeting Agenda