Ashwin Vasavada, the project scientist for NASA’s Curiosity Rover, will speak at a a talk presented by ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum and the Rogue Valley Symphony at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, April 20, at ScienceWorks, 1500 E. Main St., Ashland, according to a news release.The talk, “Ten Years on Mars with NASA’s Curiosity Rover,” is free and open to the public.“Now in its eleventh year on Mars, Curiosity continues to reveal Mars as a once-habitable planet. Early in Mars’s history, rivers and lakes persisted for millions of years and created the landforms that Curiosity explores today,” the release said. “In addition to water, there were also carbon-based molecules and other ‘building blocks’ of life. This talk will summarize the scientific findings from this mission, the challenges of exploration, and what lies ahead.”The talk will be followed by the Rogue Valley Symphony’s concert series “Celestial Pathways,” with three consecutive performances scheduled. The first performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 22, at the Craterian Theater, 23 S. Central Ave., Medford. Another 7:30 p.m. show will follow on Saturday, April 22, also at the Craterian. A final show is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, April 23, at the Grants Pass Performing Arts Center.Concert tickets can be purchased online at www.rvsymphony.org, or by phone at 541-708-6400.
