NASA Postdoctoral Program - Space Science: Mars Exploration

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 multidisciplinary studies to contribute to on-going and future Mars exploration opportunities. Several lines of investigation are prioritized, including: development of strategies, methods and tools to search for evidence of life, present or past; development and testing of instrument capabilities for the scientific exploration of Mars and for extreme environments on Earth; use of terrestrial analog environments, simulation facilities and numerical models to advance fundamental understanding of the Martian atmosphere, surface and subsurface; analysis of mission data; research and policy development on planetary protection; research on the geological history of Mars and identification of landing sites optimized for science and human exploration; and establishment of an easily accessible, electronic information base for Mars exploration. The position is located at Ames Research Center in Moffet Field, California.