Today’s guest on STEM-Talk is Dr. Chris McKay, a leading astrobiologist and planetary scientist with the Space Science Division of the NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.Chris’s interview covers a diverse range of topics ranging from the origins of life to the possibility of manned missions to Mars.For the past 30 years, Chris has been advancing our understanding of planetary science. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 1975 with a degree in physics and earned a doctorate in astrogeophysics at the University of Colorado in 1982. He was a co-investigator on the Huygens probe to Saturn’s moon Titan in 2005, the Mars Phoenix lander mission in 2008, and the current Mars Science Laboratory mission.His research at NASA has focused on the evolution of the solar system and the origin of life. He also has been heavily involved in NASA’s Mars missions including the current Mars rover — Curiosity.  In addition, Chris has thought deeply about the human exploration of Mars.He has spent considerable time studying polar and desert environments to better understand how humans might survive in Mars-like environments. His research has taken him to the Antarctic Dry Valleys, the Atacama Desert, the Arctic, and the Namib Desert.In 2015, the Desert Research Institute named Chris the Nevada Medalist, which is the highest scientific honor in the state.Links:STEM-Talk Episode 33, interview with NASA’s Natalie Batalha – http://www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/episode-33/Chris McKay’s NASA profile page – https://spacescience.arc.nasa.gov/staff/chris-mckay/Show Notes