Dr. Jose Siles, from the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, will present a scientific journey from Antarctica to the planets and beyond in search of answers. “Exploring the Universe: “From Antarctica to the Stars” Have you ever wondered how the Solar System was formed? And the stars and planets? Do you think there can be life elsewhere in the Solar System? If so, maybe you have also wondered how one can find answers to all these questions. These are also the kind of questions astrophysicists ask themselves to come up with a (simple) idea or hypothesis that eventually leads to new discoveries. A simple scientific idea leads to a technology idea or concept that evolves until a mature cutting-edge scientific instrument or camera is ready to explore the Universe and provide answers to these questions. This talk will present a scientific journey from the Earth to the planets and beyond in search of these answers. Antarctica is one of the best places to look at the sky. This scientific journey will occur in parallel with an actual exploration journey to Antarctica, to build and launch, from the bottom of the world, surrounded by ice, extreme cold, a large telescope to study our Galaxy and other galaxies from the stratosphere. You will also learn how this technology can also be applied for Earth studies to benefit mankind. At NASA, “we are the explorers”, and this talk will try to justify this statement not only with words but also with some astonishing photos and videos.