NASA Postdoctoral Program - Study of returned extraterrestrial samples

The NASA Postdoctoral Program offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects. 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 involves joining Dr. Yang Liu at JPL to study surface and interior processes of parent bodies from which samples were collected and returned, including Mars samples from the Mars 2020 mission and asteroid samples. The research focuses on volatiles, mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry of returned extraterrestrial materials. The successful candidate will identify and carry out an innovative research program that could stimulate new research areas in planetary science.