Dr. Christopher McKay of NASA Ames Research Center.

Christopher McKay is a planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center and an expert on astrobiology, space exploration, and terraforming. Planetary science, also known as planetology or planetary astronomy, is the science of planets, or planetary systems, and the solar system. ... Aerial View of Moffett Field and NASA Ames Research Center. ... Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary field, combining aspects of astronomy, biology and geology, which is focused primarily on the study of the origin, distribution and evolution of life. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space the technologies, science, and politics regarding space endeavors. ... Artists conception of a terraformed Mars in three stages of development. ...

Overview

McKay is a co-investigator on the Titan Huygens probe, the Mars Phoenix lander, the Mars Science Lander, and the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program. McKay is also very active in performing field research on organisms surviving in extreme locations on Earth, which he has performed at Death Valley, Lake Titicaca, the Sahara Desert, the Gobi Desert, the Atacama Desert, Devon Island, Siberia, and at the bottoms of ice-covered lakes in Antarctica. Atmospheric characteristics Pressure 146. ... A scale replica of the probe An artists impression of the Huygens probe as it descends through Titans murky, brownish-orange atmosphere of nitrogen and carbon-based molecules, beaming its findings to the distant Cassini orbiter. ... Conceptual drawing The Phoenix is a NASA Mars lander scheduled to launch in August 2007 during a 22 day launch window. ... The Panamint Range, Death Valley, and the Black Mountains as seen from the Space Shuttle (NASA image) Death Valley is a valley in California that is located southeast of the Sierra Nevada range in the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert, comprising much of Death Valley National Park. ... Tourists aboard a totora boat made of reeds on Lake Titicaca. ... The Sahara is the worlds second largest desert (second to Antarctica), over 9,000,000 km² (3,500,000 mi²), located in northern Africa and is 2. ... The Gobi (Mongolian Говь, Chinese 戈壁; pinyin gÄ“ bì) is a large desert region in northern China and southern Mongolia. ... The Atacama desert of Chile is a virtually rainless plateau made up of salt basins (salares), sand, and lava flows, extending from the Andes mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ... Devon Island, Nunavut. ... Siberia is also an album by Echo & The Bunnymen. ...

McKay is a member of the board of directors of the Planetary Society and has been very active with the Mars Society. He has written and made speaking appearances extensively on space exploration and terraforming. This article is in need of attention. ... Mars Society logo. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space the technologies, science, and politics regarding space endeavors. ...

McKay has published several papers on various topics related to space exploration and terraforming.

McKay holds a Ph.D. in astrogeophysics from the University of Colorado. The University of Colorado (CU) System consists of five campuses: University of Colorado at Boulder University of Colorado at Colorado Springs University of Colorado at Denver University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Fitzsimons campus of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, scheduled to open in 2007 in Aurora, Colorado...

McKay on the ethics of terraforming

Dr. McKay is noted as an advocate of a moderately biocentric position in the ethics of terraforming, arguing that we must thoroughly explore a planet such as Mars first to discover whether there is any microbial life before taking first steps toward terraforming, and that we should refrain from terraforming if such alien life is found. Discussions of the ethics of terraforming often make reference to a series of public debates McKay has held with his friend Robert Zubrin, who advocates a moderately anthropocentric position on the ethics of terraforming. For example, a written account of some of these debates is available in On to Mars: Colonizing a New World, as a joint article, "Do Indigenous Martian Bacteria have Precedence over Human Exploration?" (pp. 177-182) Biocentrism is the belief that all life, or even the whole universe living or otherwise taken as a whole, is equally valuable and humanity is not the center of existence. ... Artists conception of a terraformed Mars in three stages of development. ... For the Roman god, see Mars (mythology). ... Artists conception of a terraformed Mars in three stages of development. ... Robert Zubrin is an aerospace engineer and author best known for his advocacy of manned Mars exploration. ... Anthropocentrism (Greek άνθρωπος, anthropos, man, human being, κέντρον, kentron, center) Anthropocentrism is the knowledge, the theory, the belief, the creed, the “religion” et al, which states that human beings are and have to be (for human-beings) the most important and respected and venerated beings. ...

Sample research papers

• Astrobiology: All Alone After All? Book review of Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe by Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee, by Christopher McKay in the journal Science, Vol. 28 no. 5466, p. 625; 28 April 2000
• Organic Synthesis in Experimental Impact Shocks, Christopher P. McKay and William J. Borucki, Science, Vo. 276 pp. 390-392, 18 April 1997
• Photochemically Driven Collapse of Titan's Atmosphere, Ralph D. Lorenz, Christopher P. McKay, and Jonathan I. Lunine, Science, Vol. 275 pp. 642 - 644, 31 Jan. 1997
• Microbial Life in the Atacama Desert, R. M. Maier, K. P. Drees, J. W. Neilson, D. A. Henderson, J. Quade, J. L. Betancourt;, Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez, Fred A. Rainey, and Christopher P. McKay, Science, Vol. 306 pp. 1289-1290, 19 November 2004

Science is the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). ...

Popular articles

• Anon, "Interview with NASA's Chris McKay: Terraforming Mars in The Second Age of Exploration," 21st Century Science and Technology, 5(2), 35-40 (1992).
• C.P. McKay, "Terraforming: Making an Earth of Mars," The Planetary Report, VII(6), 26-27 (1987).
• C.P. McKay, "Let's Put Martian Life First," The Planetary Report, XXI(4), 4-5 (2001).
• R.M. Zubrin and C.P. McKay, "A World for the Winning: The Exploration and Terraforming of Mars," The Planetary Report, XII(5), 16-19 (1992).
• R.M. Zubrin and C.P. McKay, "Pioneering Mars," Ad Astra, 4(6), 34-41 (1992).
• R.M. Zubrin and C.P. McKay, "Terraforming Mars," Analog, CXIV(5), 70-87 (1994).
• The Terraforming of Planets, Man-made Biospheres and The Future Civilization, Yazawa Science Office, Tokyo (1992) (in Japanese with sections by McKay).

Research papers on terraforming

• R.H. Haynes and C.P. McKay, "The Implantation of Life on Mars: Feasibility and Motivation," Adv. Space Res., 12, (4)133-(4)140 (1992).
• M.M. Marinova, C.P. McKay and H. Hashimoto, "Warming Mars using Artificial Super-Greenhouse Gases," JBIS, 53, 235-240 (2000).
• M.M. Marinova, C.P. McKay and H. Hashimoto, "Radiative-Convective Model of Warming Mars using Artificial Super-Greenhouse Gases," J.Geophys.Res., 110, E03002, doi:10.1029/2004JE002306 (2005).
• C.P. McKay, "On Terraforming Mars," Extrapolation, 23(4), Kent State University Press (1982).
• C.P. McKay, "Terraforming Mars," JBIS, 35, 427-433 (1982).
• C.P. McKay, "Using Microorganisms to Make an Earth of Mars," in Biotechnology on the Threshold of the XXI Century, Conference Proceedings, pp. 89-91, Moscow, (1989).
• C.P. McKay, "Does Mars Have Rights? An Approach to the Environmental Ethics of Planetary Engineering," in D. MacNiven (Ed.), Moral Expertise, pp. 184-197, Routledge, New York (1990).
• C.P. McKay, and R.H. Haynes, "Should We Implant Life on Mars?" Sci. Am., 263(6), 144 (1990).
• C.P. McKay, O.B. Toon, and J.F. Kasting, "Making Mars Habitable," Nature, 352, 489-496 (1991).
• C.P. McKay and C.R. Stoker, "Gaia and Life on Mars," in S.H. Schneider and P.J. Boston, (Eds), Scientists on Gaia, pp. 375-381, M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, MA (1991).
• C.P. McKay, "Restoring Mars to Habitable Conditions: Can we? Should we? Will we?" Journal of the Irish Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, 22(1), 17-19 (1993).
• C.P. McKay, and R.H. Haynes, "Implanting Life on Mars as a Long Term Goal for Mars Exploration," in T.R. Meyer (Ed.), The Case for Mars IV, AAS Science and Technology Series, Vol. 90, pp. 209-216, Univelt, San Diego (1997).
• C.P. McKay, "Bringing Life to Mars," in The Future of Space Exploration., Sci. Am. Quarterly, 10(1), 52-57 (1999).
• C.P. McKay and M.M. Marinova, "The Physics, Biology and Environmental Ethics of Making Mars Habitable," Astrobiology, 1, 89-109 (2001).
• C.P. McKay, "Biology and the Future of Mars," in Abstracts from the Astrobiology Science Conference 2004, International Journal of Astrobiology Supplement, p.8 (2004).
• T.L. Segura, C.P. McKay and O.B. Toon, "An Impact-Triggered Runaway Greenhouse on Mars," in Abstracts from the Astrobiology Science Conference 2004, International Journal of Astrobiology Supplement, p.78 (2004).
• R.M. Zubrin and C.P. McKay, "Technological Requirements for Terraforming Mars," JBIS, 50, 83-92 (1997).

External links

• Christopher McKay bio at NASA
• Christopher McKay bio at the Planetary Society
• Christopher McKay interview at the Planetary Society
• profile of Christopher McKay at Astrobiology Magazine
• Christopher McKay bio at ExtremeEnvironment.com