{"662224":{"#nid":"662224","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Frances Rivera-Hern\u00e1ndez Lands NASA and Scialog Grants for Planetary Research, Signatures of Life","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen samples of Mars\u0026rsquo; soil and rocks are returned to Earth in the future, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/people\/rivera-hernandez-dr-frances\u0022\u003EFrances Rivera-Hernandez\u003C\/a\u003E will aid in the search for chemical signs of life within those samples.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E assistant professor will also help develop a new generation of robots and rovers that can handle difficult terrain on the Moon, Mars, and other space destinations.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThose projects are made possible thanks to two new awards: a $2.9 million \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/research\/astrobiology-at-nasa\/pstar\/\u0022\u003ENASA Planetary Science and Technology from Analog Research (PSTAR)\u003C\/a\u003E grant, and a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rescorp.org\/news\/2022\/10\/8-teams-win-awards-in-2nd-year-of-scialog-signatures-of-life-in-the-universe\u0022\u003E2022 Scialog \u0026ldquo;Signatures of Life in the Universe\u0026rdquo; Fellowship\u003C\/a\u003E that\u0026rsquo;s part of an overall $1,045,000 award to eight interdisciplinary teams of scientists from the United States and Canada.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor the Scialog\u0026reg; research, Rivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez will team with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/science.jpl.nasa.gov\/people\/barge\/\u0022\u003ELaurie Barge\u003C\/a\u003E, research scientist in the Planetary Sciences division of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\u0022\u003ENASA\u0026rsquo;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E for a project titled \u003Cem\u003EMars Sample Return: Connecting Martian Environmental Geochemistry to Returned Samples\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe 2022 Scialog Collaborative Innovation Awards are funded by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rescorp.org\u0022\u003EResearch Corporation for Science Advancement\u003C\/a\u003E, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hsfoundation.org\u0022\u003EHeising-Simons Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/kavlifoundation.org\u0022\u003EThe Kavli Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/content\/live-coverage-of-nasas-spacex-crew-5-mission\u0022\u003ENASA\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe NASA PSTAR project, meanwhile, will have Rivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez collaborating with a Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E dual alumna and colleagues for their research into developing autonomous, legged robots that can handle challenging planetary terrains.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBetter robotic design to serve science\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We are trying to figure out the most optimized ways to do science on the Moon and Mars,\u0026rdquo; Rivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez said. \u0026ldquo;The key is how to better design robots to do the science that we want \u0026mdash; and to do the missions. Missions cost money, and the lifetime of missions is quite restrained, so we\u0026rsquo;re looking at how to design robots to help serve that endeavor \u0026mdash; and how humans can interact with those robots to do science.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/viterbi.usc.edu\/directory\/faculty\/Qian\/Feifei\u0022\u003EFeifei Qian\u003C\/a\u003E (M.S. PHYS \u0026#39;11, Ph.D. ECE \u0026#39;15), a WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/viterbischool.usc.edu\u0022\u003EUniversity of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering,\u003C\/a\u003E and former student of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/daniel-goldman\u0022\u003EDaniel Goldman\u003C\/a\u003E, Dunn Family Professor in the School of Physics, is leading the three-year PSTAR project.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team\u0026rsquo;s ultimate goal is to create legged robots that could more easily glide through icy surfaces, crusted sand, and other difficult-to-navigate environments, significantly enhancing scientists\u0026rsquo; abilities to gather information from planetary bodies.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez is co-investigator and one of the few researchers on the team with both fieldwork and rover mission experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe project employs \u0026ldquo;bio-inspired\u0026rdquo; robots with legs, meaning their form is modeled after animals\u0026rsquo; unique abilities to move well on challenging surfaces like soft sand. Utilizing the latest \u0026ldquo;direct-drive\u0026rdquo; actuator technology, these robots can \u0026ldquo;feel\u0026rdquo; the terrain (e.g., sand softness, rock shapes) from their legs. This ability allows the legged robots to interact with the environment in the same manner as animals, adjusting their movement as needed.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/viterbischool.usc.edu\/news\/2022\/09\/legged-robots-to-aid-with-planetary-research\/\u0022\u003EQian said\u003C\/a\u003E these robots are modeled in a manner that allows them \u0026ldquo;to not just mimic how the animals look, but really understand what makes these animals successful on different terrains.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;And of course there are the geology and science interests,\u0026rdquo; added Rivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez, who also leads \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/planetas.eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EThe Planetary Laboratory Analyzing Environments, Terrains and Analogs (PLANETAS)\u003C\/a\u003E research group at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We are interested in determining the geotechnical properties of regolith, like erodibility and cohesion, when it\u0026#39;s cemented by ice or mineral crusts,\u0026rdquo; she explained.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This will help us make better science and mobility decisions for imminent missions to the Moon, where icy regolith in steep terrains will be explored with limited knowledge of mobility on such mixtures \u0026mdash; and to Mars, where changes in complex terrains that include crusts and unconsolidated sediment will constrain the planned rapid retrieval of samples collected during the current \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/mars2020\/\u0022\u003EMars 2020 Mission\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026rdquo; Rivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez added. \u0026ldquo;Four co-Investigators on the crew have geology field experience. So the engineers are making sure the robot is working correctly \u0026mdash; and the scientists are focused on what we want it to do.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez said the work will help with broader planetary exploration, such as robots eventually helping astronauts on the Moon. \u0026ldquo;Psychologists are on the team and will be helping study decision-making, and how we design robots and interact with them,\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;ll be optimizing everything.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Qian and Rivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez, the research group consists of co-investigators from research universities including \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tamu.edu\u0022\u003ETexas A\u0026amp;M University\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.upenn.edu\u0022\u003EUniversity of Pennsylvania\u003C\/a\u003E, as well as the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/johnson\/home\/index.html\u0022\u003ENASA Johnson Space Center\u003C\/a\u003E. Much of the NASA funding supports the students who work on this project.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This is the dream team and a very rare chance to bring a team with all the components into one project,\u0026rdquo; Qian said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch and science dialog\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez\u0026rsquo;s second award is funded by Scialog\u0026reg;, short for \u0026ldquo;science + dialog.\u0026rdquo; Scialog\u0026reg; was formed in 2010 \u0026ldquo;to bring together early career scientists to advance basic science in areas of global importance, and to write proposals for high-risk, high-reward collaborative research projects.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rescorp.org\/scialog\/signatures-of-life-in-the-universe\u0022\u003EThe Scialog: Signatures of Life in the Universe\u003C\/a\u003E (SLU) program, sponsored by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rescorp.org\/\u0022\u003EResearch Corporation for Science Advancement\u003C\/a\u003E, first met virtually in June of 2021 with the founding organizations providing facilitators from a variety of disciplines: Earth and planetary science, chemistry and physics, astronomy and astrobiology, microbiology and biochemistry, and data science.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez\u0026rsquo;s team project involves simulating samples of Mars\u0026rsquo; soil and rocks returned to Earth by future probes, or possibly crewed missions. The project will not involve the actual gathering of those samples. \u0026ldquo;There are no field components, it\u0026rsquo;s mostly lab work-focused,\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re simulating caching rock samples on Mars and seeing what happens to those samples \u0026mdash; do their properties change? We\u0026rsquo;ll get them back and see what we can say about possible life on Mars.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez acknowledges it may be 20 years before those samples are returned to Earth \u0026mdash; but also that the project underscores the importance NASA places on the search for possible life on Mars. She also says a new age of exploration for the Moon could help set the stage for future astrobiological activities on Mars.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The search for past evidence of microbial life on Mars is one of the main goals of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/missions\/mars-sample-return-msr\u0022\u003EMars Sample Return\u003C\/a\u003E and NASA\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\u0022\u003EMars Exploration program\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;By assessing the rate of microbial contamination by human activities on the Moon, we will get a better understanding of the potential impacts of biological contamination in our search for life on Mars.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez joins the ranks of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rescorp.org\/news\/2020\/02\/scialog-signatures-of-life-in-the-universe-fellows-named\u0022\u003ESLU Fellows\u003C\/a\u003E that include four other Georgia Tech researchers: \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.jenniferglass.com\/\u0022\u003EJennifer Glass\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/gli\/\u0022\u003EGongjie Li\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the School of Physics; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/reinhard.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EChris Reinhard\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences; and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/amanda-stockton\u0022\u003EAmanda Stockton\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Rivera-Hern\u00e1ndez will help develop smarter autonomous rovers and robotics for the Moon and Mars, and hunt for chemical signs of life beyond Earth."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEarth and Atmospheric Sciences Assistant Professor Frances Rivera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez is the recipient of two new research grants. As a 2022 Scialog\u0026reg; \u0026lsquo;Signatures of Life in the Universe\u0026rsquo; Fellow, and co-investigator of a new $2.9 million NASA Planetary Science and Technology from Analog Research (PSTAR) grant, she will help develop smarter autonomous rovers and robotics for the Moon and Mars, and hunt for chemical signs of life beyond Earth.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Assistant Professor Frances Rivera-Hern\u00e1ndez will help develop smarter autonomous rovers and robotics for the Moon and Mars, and hunt for chemical signs of life beyond Earth. "}],"uid":"34528","created_gmt":"2022-10-17 19:53:10","changed_gmt":"2023-03-02 19:57:42","author":"jhunt7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-10-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2022-10-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"662225":{"id":"662225","type":"image","title":"Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Assistant Professor Frances Rivera-Hern\u00e1ndez (Photo: Brice Zimmerman)","body":null,"created":"1666036555","gmt_created":"2022-10-17 19:55:55","changed":"1666036555","gmt_changed":"2022-10-17 19:55:55","alt":"","file":{"fid":"250802","name":"France_Rivera_Hernandez_2-crop.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/France_Rivera_Hernandez_2-crop.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/France_Rivera_Hernandez_2-crop.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1083043,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/France_Rivera_Hernandez_2-crop.jpg?itok=MisPFPm8"}}},"media_ids":["662225"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/viterbischool.usc.edu\/news\/2022\/09\/legged-robots-to-aid-with-planetary-research\/","title":"Legged Robots to Aid with Planetary Research"},{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/BackToTheMoon#FrancesHernandez","title":"To the Moon, Back, and Beyond: Why the Moon Matters"},{"url":"https:\/\/planetas.eas.gatech.edu\/","title":"The Planetary Laboratory Analyzing Environments, Terrains and Analogs (PLANETAS)"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/rivera-hernandez-wins-nasa-grant-aid-current-mars-rover-missions-and-find-martian-lakes-future","title":"Rivera-Hern\u00e1ndez Wins NASA Grant to Aid Current Mars Rover Missions \u2014 and Find \u2018Martian Lakes\u2019 for Future Rovers and Crews"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/hispanic-and-latinx-heritage-month-faculty-perspectives-representation-mentoring-leadership","title":"Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month: Faculty Perspectives on Representation, Mentoring, Leadership in STEM"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192252","name":"cos-planetary"},{"id":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"2088","name":"EAS"},{"id":"187439","name":"Frances Rivera-Hernandez"},{"id":"7057","name":"Mars"},{"id":"4191","name":"moon"},{"id":"2261","name":"earth"},{"id":"191454","name":"signatures of life in the universe"},{"id":"184997","name":"Scialog"},{"id":"408","name":"NASA"},{"id":"191455","name":"PSTAR"},{"id":"187158","name":"Mars Perseverance Rover"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EContributors: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nLaurie E. Smith, Renay San Miguel (Georgia Tech College of Sciences)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nSara Kahn (USC Viterbi School of Engineering)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEditor and Contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jess@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences at Georgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jess@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}