To determine how life might persist on Mars, Nathalie Cabrol explores one of Earth’s most extreme environments: high-elevation Andean lakes and deserts.
Why you should listen
But Cabrol’s eyes are always fixed on Mars, which may have once had a climate similar to Earth’s mountain deserts. As a science team member for NASA, Cabrol helps design interplanetary experiments for the Martian Spirit rover, and researches new technologies for future missions to Mars and beyond.
Cabrol is the author of author of The Secret Life of the Universe: An Astrobiologist's Search for the Origins and Frontiers of Life, published in August 2024.
What others say
Like the organisms she seeks, Cabrol is an extremophile—drawn to extreme environments and the lessons these landscapes offer about the persistence of life.
Nathalie Cabrol’s TED Talk
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