Roger Wiens has been a Mars explorer since he was 11 years old. He grew up as a kid looking through a telescope at The Red Planet with his brother and sketching its features. “That was at the time when we were first learning about the river valleys on Mars,” he said. “I never expected to go into exploring Mars, but here I am in Indiana exploring Mars.” Wiens is a planetary science professor at Purdue University, but he’s also worked for NASA for 35 years. He now leads the SuperCam instrument team on NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover, which launched in 2020. MORE: https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/purdue-professor-helping-discover-ancient-life-on-mars-roger-wiens-explorer-planetary-science/531-7c5a7752-52cf-410d-8563-a0fef0e0d516