NASA Postdoctoral Program - Life Detection in Water-Ice Matrices

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA's missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology. This specific opportunity focuses on developing in situ life detection instruments for planetary science applications. The research involves two types of instruments: one for identifying and characterizing microbes within ice using ultraviolet fluorescence and quantum dot labeled antibodies with flow cytometry, and another for analyzing gases trapped within ice using cavity ring down or photoacoustic spectroscopy. The work draws parallels between ancient ice cores on Earth and potential exploration of polar regions of Mars and icy moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. Candidates with expertise in laser systems, nonlinear optics, pattern recognition, software engineering, isotopic dating of ice, molecular methods, and planetary science are encouraged to apply. The fellowship takes place at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.