Even before he joined NAU’s Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science in 2016, Christopher Edwards was already a participating scientist on the MSL team, funded through a grant of $470,000. In addition to funding his research, the grant enabled him to build the Mars Rover Operations and Analysis Laboratory on NAU’s Flagstaff campus, where faculty researchers and students use sophisticated equipment to help command the day-to-day activities of the rover.
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Shae Raposa is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Astronomy & Planetary Science; she studies volatile materials on Pluto and other outer solar system bodies. In honor of Pluto’s birthday, The NAU Review asked her to share her favorite facts about this mysterious celestial body and discuss her research.
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NAU astronomy undergrad Claire Gibson wrote a nice article for the Flagstaff Festival of Science web page about PhD student Lucas McClure
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Assistant professor Cristina Thomas of Northern Arizona University has been named an Emerging Scholar by the leading education magazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education in its Jan. 20 issue. The publication annually recognizes an interdisciplinary group of early-career minority scholars who represent the best of U.S. academia.
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In one of the most exciting developments in astronomy in the 21st century, NASA is launching the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) today—and Northern Arizona University astronomers, planetary astronomers and their students will use the massive observatory to expand their research and advance our understanding of the solar system.
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NASA’s latest launch into outer space is going to make an impact. In fact, that’s its entire mission.
It’s all part of a long-term planetary defense strategy to avoid an “Armageddon” scenario, and NAU planetary scientist Cristina Thomas is part of the team studying this event.
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