NASA Space Mission Involves ASU

NASA has began working on a new space mission with some help from ASU researchers. They have been tasked with trying to decipher one unanswered question about the moon; there are a pair of large geological domes that sit right on its lunar surface. This is a question that NASA hopes they can find the answer to. Joining us on Arizona Horizon to discuss this is Dr. Craig Hardgrove of ASU’s Earth and Space Exploration.

A look into Hardgrove’s Background

According to his biography, Hardgrove joined ASU in 2015. He is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the LunaH-Map mission, the first planetary science mission designed, built and operated by ASU. He is also a participating scientist on the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) team and PI of SINGR (Single Scintillator Neutron and Gamma-Ray Spectrometer) instrument development project. Prior to ASU, he was an assistant staff scientist with Malin Space Science Systems, MSL and CTX operations (2012-2013). 

Professor Hardgrove has experience working on many Mars rover and orbiter missions (MER Spirit and Opportunity, MSL Curiosity, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter-CTX, Mars-2020 Mastcam-Z). His research interests are in planetary geochemistry, specifically volatile abundances in the near-surface, as well as applications of infrared remote sensing on planetary surfaces to understand sedimentary processes. He is also working in small spacecraft (CubeSat) development, as well as in development of scientific instrumentation for future interplanetary CubeSat missions.