As humankind gets ready to explore Mars in the 2030s, it is intriguing to remember how the age of European exploration unfolded. Portugal set a series of important milestones to map the world. Ferdinand Magellan’s trip around the world lasted three years, eerily similar to the 34 months to travel to Mars proposed by one mission plan. Part of the presentation will explore the ancient technologies used to know a location anywhere in the world. (No, it is not GPS!)

Moderator: Gerald Checco is spending his retirement delving into interesting topics—like medieval pandemics, the Black Death, annihilation of the dinosaurs, the history of numbers, and many others. He started his career as a teacher before becoming an engineer.