NASA JPL-CaltechRoland Brockers is Professor of Modular Robotic Systems in the Control of Networked Systems group and a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology in California. On Tuesday, June 10, 2026, he will once again give a lecture for the interested public as part of his teaching stay at the university, this time on the topic “Exploring Venus: Hot Beauty or Earth’s Evil Twin?” (5:00 PM, Lecture Hall 1).

As the third brightest object in our sky, Venus is far more than just the “Morning Star”—it is a world of fascinating contradictions. Celebrated as Earth’s twin, then later dismissed as a hellish wasteland, recent discoveries have begun to reveal the true nature of its extreme environment. In this talk, we will explore the history of our journey to Venus and examine its unexpected role in the hunt for extraterrestrial life.
Roland Brockers received his doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Paderborn in 2005 and has been conducting research in the field of image-based, autonomous navigation of robotic systems for more than 25 years. He has been working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, since 2007. Brockers was involved in the development of the Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) system of the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity, the CADRE rover mission to the Moon, and many other NASA projects.
The English language lecture is part of the Space Exploration Lecture Series. No registration is necessary and the entry is free.

Brockers Roland | Foto: aau/Müller
Der Beitrag Space-Exploration Lecture: “Exploring Venus: Hot Beauty or Earth’ Evil Twin?” erschien zuerst auf University of Klagenfurt.