Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

In the 65 years since the launch of the first interplanetary spacecraft, locations that were once little more than points of light in the sky have become known worlds through the efforts of over 100 robotic explorers. What we have seen through their eyes has challenged our scientific preconceptions at every turn. Pluto exemplifies this transformation; previously thought to be a cold, dead place, Pluto was instead revealed in 2015 to have an active geology with glacial flows, extrusive volcanism and even fog banks. Examples of these surprises are important to remember when considering planets beyond our solar system. These extra-solar planets will, for decades to come, remain no more than variations in the brightness of points of light in the sky. Yet we are able to discern important details about their environments and atmospheres by studying these variations. We can make this data meaningful only through our knowledge of the planets within our own solar system, using them as a sort of Rosetta Stone. Simultaneously, by describing the range of planetary systems that can exist, exoplanetary astronomy challenges our models of the solar system, providing fresh insights that we can test through new missions that deepen our understanding of our own family of planets. Together, these two processes help us to push past empirical explanations to obtain a fundamental understanding of planetary processes. My work focuses on the exploration of our solar system, (1) developing the tools required for exploration and also (2) in interpreting and modeling the data returned from planetary missions and (3) the application of these results to planetary bodies in other stellar systems. Thus, it is the objective of my research to develop Systems in the engineering sense of equipment, tools and techniques while also striving to develop an understanding the science of Systems of planets. Advancing these goals will involve, broadly: (1) Developing low-cost, low mass instrumentation and platforms for planetary space missions. Space missions are very highly constrained endeavors. As such, my research into instrumentation focuses on opportunities to add significant capability and science value at slight incremental cost in resources. (2) Exploring the atmospheres of other planets and their interactions with planetary surfaces. As data continues to flow back to earth from interplanetary spacecraft, my laboratory is well positioned to contribute to the understanding of planetary systems. As a participating scientist on the Mars Science Laboratory Mission (popularly known as the Curiosity Rover) and a collaborator on the Mars InSight mission, my students and I are able to run our experiments on Mars while taking opportunistic advantage of data returned from other spacecraft to make contributions enabled by our unique multi-disciplinary approach. (3) Applying those contributions to exoplanets through our participation in the Technologies for Exo-Planetary Science CREATE.