Dr. Sara Seager

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Red Planet Live

The Mars Society - Red Planet Live

48 episodes

1 week ago

A raw, off-the-cuff look into all things Mars. We will talk with planetary scientists, STEM field experts, commercial space representatives, and space advocates who all have a deep passion for Mars. Ashton Zeth is the new host of our 60-minute video broadcast on behalf of the Mars Society and will lead and moderate tantalizing discussions with our virtual guests as we delve into the questions and work being done in order to make the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet a reality. For more information about the Mars Society, visit www.MarsSociety.org

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Dr. Sara Seager

Red Planet Live

1 hour 1 minute 12 seconds

1 week ago

Dr. Sara Seager

Exploring New Worlds: Dr. Sara Seager on Venus, Exoplanets, and Life Among the Clouds

In this episode of Red Planet Live, MIT astrophysicist Dr. Sara Seager takes us on a breathtaking journey through the frontiers of planetary science—from the acid clouds of Venus to the icy oceans of Enceladus, and even the methane lakes of Titan.

Dr. Seager reveals why Venus, often overlooked, is one of the most thrilling destinations for future missions. She discusses the possibility of life within its sulfuric acid clouds, where stable biomolecules could persist despite the harsh chemistry. Her team’s latest findings continue to show a phosphine signal with 4.8-sigma confidence, renewing excitement about potential biological activity in our neighboring planet’s skies.

We also explore the power of small but mighty missions, including Rocket Lab’s upcoming Venus probe and Asteria, the CubeSat that proved precision astronomy can thrive on a shoestring budget. Dr. Seager shares her insights on TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, which at its peak was discovering up to 100 planet candidates a month—a quiet revolution in the search for other worlds.

From Sub-Neptune exoplanets like K2-18b, showing signs of life with dimethyl sulfide in its hydrogen-rich atmosphere, to her visionary idea of Starshade, a large space telescope, Dr. Seager paints a hopeful picture of humanity’s search for life beyond Earth.

We also touch on her Seager Equation—a parallel to the Drake Equation—and her book The Smallest Lights in the Universe, which reminds us that discovery is as much about human connection as it is about science.

Join us as we uncover why the most “underdog” worlds—and missions—often hold the brightest potential for discovering life in the cosmos.

Dr. Sara Seager's Links:

https://www.saraseager.com/professionalbiography

Venus : https://www.morningstarmissions.space/

https://www.projectstarshade.com/

Sara's memoir The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir

https://www.amazon.com/Smallest-Lights-Universe-Memoir/dp/0525576258