NASA Postdoctoral Program - Solar System Exploration: High-Resolution Spectroscopy of Comets at Infrared Wavelengths

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 the 3-5 micron spectral region containing fundamental ro-vibrational bands of key molecules comprising the volatile (icy) component of cometary nuclei. Using modern infrared echelle spectrometers at world class observatories, researchers directly measure the volatile component of comets to study conditions prevalent in the early solar system. The research involves measuring abundances of native ices (water, carbon monoxide, methyl alcohol, ethane, methane, hydrogen cyanide, and acetylene) and additional molecules in long-period and short-period comets. The fellowship will be based at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, under the mentorship of Dr. Michael DiSanti.