USA: By 2030, NASA hopes to return samples from Mars. Indian-origin scientist Meenakshi Wadhwa is in charge of the crucial Mars Sample Return Mission (MSR).
Wadhwa is a native of Chandigarh, who serves as a planetary scientist at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration. In honor of his achievements, an asteroid named "8356 Vadhaven" was named after him.
Dr. Wadhwa graduated in Physics and Chemistry from Panjab University in 1988 with a degree in Geology. Later, in 1989, he continued his studies at the same university to earn his master's degree.
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He did his Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the University of Washington in 1994, and has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Diego.
The J. Lawrence Smith Medal of the National Academy of Sciences will be given to Dr. Wadhwa in 2021. His list of achievements also includes receiving the NEER Award from the Meteorological Society and the Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award (2015). (2000).
In addition, she participated in a program of exploration of meteorites in the Antarctic, for which she was awarded the Antarctica Service Medal.
She oversaw the 2019-2020 presidency of the Meteoritical Society and currently serves as chair of the Science Committee of the NASA Advisory Council.
As a co-investigator on the Genesis mission and a team member on the Mars Science Laboratory mission, he has served on several NASA advisory committees.
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Additionally, he oversaw the analysis team for NASA's Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials (CAPTEM).
The processes and timing involved in the formation and evolution of the Solar System and planets are the main topics of his research. Dr. Wadhwa's use of long-lived radioisotopes to establish the age of the Solar System is one of his achievements.
His study of trace elements and stable isotopes, especially hydrogen, in meteorite minerals has created new ways of interpreting the data and given us new perspectives on the planets, especially Mars.
Uranium-235 and Uranium-238 are isotopes commonly measured to determine the age of meteorites and ancient rocks on Earth because they tend to decay over time. The ratios of these uranium isotopes were measured by Dr. Wadhwa and his team to more precisely "refine" the age of the Solar System.
In an interview last year, Dr. Wadhwa said, “My scientific career began with the study of Martian meteorites, which are currently the only samples of Mars available for study in laboratories on Earth.
In some ways, my new position with Mars Sample Return (MSR) brings me that much closer to realizing my lifelong ambition of becoming a Mars explorer.
Wadhwa had met with a serious accident in 2017 while she was collecting rock samples from Iceland. She was thrown 30 feet to the ground when her SUV collided with another vehicle. He had broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a punctured lung and other injuries.
With the bold aim of returning the first samples from an extraterrestrial planet, I will be working as an MSR program scientist alongside an incredible team of scientists and engineers, said Dr. Wadhwa.
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The return of samples is the logical next step in learning more about the geological and possible biological evolution of Mars, and these samples will be preserved for future generations to study.