Dr Christopher P. McKay (born 1954) is an American

planetary scientist Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of th ...

at NASA Ames Research Center, studying planetary atmospheres,

astrobiology Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investig ...

, and terraforming. McKay majored in physics at Florida Atlantic University, where he also studied mechanical engineering, graduating in 1975, and received his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in astrogeophysics from the University of Colorado in 1982.

Career

McKay has done research on planetary atmospheres, particularly the atmospheres of

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

and Mars, and on the origin and evolution of life. He is a co-investigator on the Huygens probe, the

Mars Phoenix ''Phoenix'' was an uncrewed space probe that landed on the surface of Mars on May 25, 2008, and operated until November 2, 2008. ''Phoenix'' was operational on Mars for sols ( days). Its instruments were used to assess the local habitability ...

lander, and the Mars Science Laboratory. He also performed field research on

extremophiles An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme temper ...

, in such locations as Death Valley, the Atacama Desert,

Axel Heiberg Island Axel Heiberg Island ( iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᑦ ᓄᓈᑦ, ) is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located in the Arctic Ocean, it is the 32nd largest island in the world and Canada's seventh largest island. According ...

, and ice-covered lakes in Antarctica. McKay is the Principal Investigator of the proposed Icebreaker Life astrobiology mission to Mars. In 2015 he received the Nevada Medal. He was a member of the board of directors of the Planetary Society and also works with the Mars Society, and has written and spoken on

space exploration Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by robotic spacec ...

and terraforming. He is also an adviser for the Microbes Mind Forum.

Ethics of terraforming

McKay advocates 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 if indigenous alien life is found in an obscure niche or dormant on Mars, we should remove all Earth life and alter Mars to support the global spread of this alien life on Mars. He has held a series of public debates with Robert Zubrin, who advocates a moderately anthropocentric position on the ethics of terraforming.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).

References

External links

Video of Chris McKay on The Agenda with Steve Paikin, "Are We Bound for Space?"
panel discussion with

Chris Hadfield Chris Austin Hadfield (born August 29, 1959) is a Canadian retired astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot, and musician. The first Canadian to perform extravehicular activity in outer space, he has flown two Space Shuttle missions and also serv ...

, Lawrence Krauss,

Donna Shirley Donna Lee Shirley ( Donna Lee Pivorotta; born 1941) is a former manager of Mars Exploration at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She is the author of the book ''Managing Martians: The Extraordinary Story of a Woman's Lifelong Quest to Get to Ma ...

, Karl Schroeder and

Robert D. Richards Robert D. Richards is a Canadian-born space entrepreneur. He is co-founder and CEO of Moon Express, Inc., a U.S. company partnered with NASA and developing robotic spacecraft to provide low cost access to the Moon for science, exploration and co ...

McKay's Public Lecture on Saturn's Moon Titan
part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series {{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Christopher Planetary scientists Living people Mars Society University of Colorado alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Florida Atlantic University alumni Astrobiologists American Antarctic scientists 1954 births

Career

Ethics of terraforming

See also

References

External links