Feb. 7, 2019
What can the asteroid Bennu tell us about the universe and its origins? Assistant astronomy professor Cristina Thomas talked to NAU-TV about her experience as a team member of NASA’s OSIRIS REx mission, which landed on the asteroid late last year and is collecting samples of regolith, or loose surface material, which scientists think may have answers about the earliest history in the solar system.
Thomas’ research focuses on asteroids and near-Earth projects; she recently completed… Read more
NAU student contributing to NASA’s search for life on Mars by blowing up space rocks with robot lasers
Nov. 8, 2018
Nuclear-powered laser beams; Martian rocks vaporized to dust; clouds of plasma emitting light waves captured by space robots—to most, this sounds like the makings of a science-fiction novel. To Northern Arizona University doctoral student Sarah Lamm, this is just another day at work. As a member of NASA’s Curiosity mission team and a student of astronomy and planetary science, searching… Read more
Think twice before moving to Mars—NAU planetary scientist refutes terraforming in NASA study
By Kerry Bennett
Office of the Vice President for Research
Colonizing Mars as a backup planet for Earth has been a theme in both science fiction and popular science for decades, and NASA plans to send human explorers to the Red Planet within the next 20 years.
But how feasible is it… Read more
NAU astronomer on team that discovered 12 new moons of Jupiter
By Kerry Bennett
Office of the Vice President for Research
The Carnegie Institution for Science recently announced the discovery of 12 new moons of Jupiter, bringing the total number of moons orbiting the solar system’s largest planet to 79—a finding that has garnered international media coverage, including NBC News, The Washington Post, BBC, the New York Times,… Read more
Brain Food: Mars Rover Digs Up Organic Material | KNAU Arizona Public Radio
Mars Rover Curiosity has dug up organic material in rocks just below the surface of what’s believed to be an ancient Martian lake bed.
Planetary geologist Mark Salvatore of Flagstaff says the discovery of carbon-based molecules, butane and propane, suggest they may be the result of the breakdown of larger, more complex organic molecules—the kind that could be related to life.
“These organic molecules are really the backbone to what could form life, and the fact that we found all these… Read more
Life on Mars? NAU astronomy professor discusses NASA’s finding of organic matter on Red Planet
Mark Salvatore has been studying Mars’ surface for years, including through his work with the Curiosity rover. He talked to NAU News about NASA’s announcement Thursday that showed evidence of organic material and methane on Mars—both of which could be indicative of life on the Red Planet.
Salvatore is an assistant professor in the Department of… Read more