Project Overview
Development of a spaceflight rock-dating mass spectrometer
Department(s)
Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
For a number of years, we have been working to build a rock-dating instrument that is portable enough to fly on a mission to the Moon or Mars. In fact, a Moon mission we have conceived is presently being considered by NASA for possible flight in 2026-2027. This year, newly miniaturized lasers are coming on-line, and a priority for the summer is testing them. Students will work with me to analyze acquired with the new lasers, so we can learn how to optimally run them. A second, related project is the analysis of terrestrial analogues of Martian evaporite minerals, i.e., those that were left behind when an ocean evaporated away on Mars. Central New York has a number of the same minerals, from when an ocean evaporated about 380 million years ago, and we will study which minerals are the most reliable recorders of their age.
Students working on this project can hope to analyze a lot of data, as we continue to perfect our custom-built instrument. When you build it yourself, it doesn't come with a manual, so we need to work out how best to operate it.
Student Qualifications
Applicants should be excited to dream about science on the Moon or Mars, have some experience in the acquisition and analysis of quantitative data, and feel comfortable with the language of math and either physics or geology. Familiarity with coding in any language is desirable (I use Matlab).
Number of Student Researchers
2 students
Project Length
8 weeks