Nicolle Zellner Participates in NASA-Sponsored Mission Concept Study

November 2020

Nicolle Zellner (Physics) participated in a NASA-sponsored mission concept study focused on determining whether or not measuring compositions and ages of geological samples in situ was feasible. The concept study focused on missions that would measure samples on the Moon, Mars, and Vesta in order to address questions related to the evolution of each planetary body, as well as the bombardment history of each object specifically and the solar system in general. The citation is:

Cohen B. A., Young K. E., Zellner N. E. B., Zacny K., Yingst R. A., Watkins R. N., et al. (2020) In Situ Geochronology for the Next Decade. Final Report submitted in response to NNH18ZDA001N-PMCS: Planetary Mission Concept Studies, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/documents.

Nicolle also submitted a white paper to aid the Artemis Science Definition Team in determining the science to be accomplished with the Artemis III human crew when it lands at the Moon's South Pole. The citation is:

Zellner N. E. B. (2020) Lunar Glass Sampling by the Artemis Crew: Big Science from Small Samples, White Paper submitted to the Artemis III Science Definition Team, 2074.pdf, https://www.lpi.usra.edu/announcements/artemis/whitepapers/.