NASA has announced the selection of US participating scientists in the JAXA-led Martian Moons eXploration (MMX )Mission to return samples from the Martian moon Phobos. Arizona State University researcher Dr. Jemma Davidson will join the MMX mission's Sample Analysis and Science Working Teams as a participating scientist. Davidson, an isotope cosmochemist and petrologist in the […]
New research presented at MetSoc 2023
This August, Wadhwa Group members presented new findings at the annual meeting of the Meteoritical Society in Los Angeles. Established in 1933, The Meteoritical Society is an international organization dedicated to the promotion of research and education in planetary science with emphasis on the studies of meteorites and other extraterrestrial materials that further our understanding […]
2023 Spring ExMAG meeting
Meteorite Studies (BCMS) personnel recently participated in the annual meeting of the NASA-chartered Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG). ExMAG is a community-based, interdisciplinary group that provides a forum for discussion and analysis of matters concerning the collection, curation, and analysis of extraterrestrial samples, including planning future sample return missions. Center Research Scientist Dr. Jemma Davidson […]
Congratulations to Nicole Phelan!
Congratulations to Wadhwa Group member Nicole Phelan, who successfully defended her M. S. thesis June 28, 2023! Mass-independent Isotope Anomalies of Titanium in Carbonaceous Chondrites: Implications for Isotopic Heterogeneity in the Early Solar System The isotopic compositions of meteorites provide valuable insights into the earliest history of our Solar System and, in some cases, provide […]
New research
This week, members of the Wadhwa Group are presenting new findings at the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) held in Houston, Texas. The presented research covers a range of topics in meteoritics and cosmochemistry, including carbonaceous chondrites, water on Mars, mineralogy, and isotope geochemistry. Click on the abstract title links below to learn […]
Undergraduate student presents new research on lunar meteorite
At this year’s NASA Space Grant Sudent Poster Session, undergraduate student Christian Kroemer presented his analysis of minerals that form under high pressure and temperature conditions, including tissingtite-II, corundum, silica, and olivine to explore the formation and impact processes of lunar meteorite Northwest Africa 13967. The poster session highlights the research of Space Grant Students […]
New paper on chondrite meteorites
Wadhwa Group Ph.D. student Nicole Phelan is first author of a new research paper released in the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, titled "A 187Re-187Os, 87Rb-86Sr, highly siderophile and incompatible trace element study of some carbonaceous, ordinary and enstatite chondrite meteorites". "The focus of the study is to link the variations observed in the HSE […]
ASU scientists have key roles in Mars sample collection and return
NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is the most sophisticated rover NASA has ever sent to the red planet. One of the main tasks of this mission is to collect carefully selected and documented rock and sediment samples for future return to Earth. Once collected, NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) program will be responsible for bringing […]
Congratulations, Dr. Soumya Ray
Congratulations to Dr. Soumya Ray, who successfully her doctoral dissertation August 24th! A combined investigation of iron and silicon isotopes in meteorites: Implications for planetary accretion and differentiation Meteorites provide us with an opportunity to reconstruct the history of our Solar System. Differentiated meteorites, also called achondrites, are the result of melting and differentiation processes […]
National Academy of Sciences honors Meenakshi Wadhwa with J. Lawrence Smith Medal
The National Academy of Sciences has announced that School of Earth and Space Exploration Director Meenakshi Wadhwa will be honored with the 2021 J. Lawrence Smith Medal for her extraordinary scientific achievements. “Wadhwa has deepened the world’s understanding of the evolutionary history of the solar system through her significant contributions to the sciences of cosmochemistry, solar system chronology, […]