Indujaa Ganesh

Stefano Nerozzi

Graduate student Indujaa Ganesh and postdoctoral Research Associate Stefano Nerozzi have been selected to be part of the Early Career Team for the Mars Ice Mapper Reconnaissance/Science Measurement Definition group team. Indujaa is a fifth-year Ph.D. student advised by Associate Professor Lynn Carter. Her mission expertise is radar (SAR/Sounding/Modeling), lunar landing site characterization (hazards, ice favorability), and imaging. Stefano's expertise is radar (sounding/GPR), geophysical glacial surveys, geomechanical stability, geomorphology, analogues, and atmosphere.  

The Core Team includes Professor Shane Byrne (radar, ice detection, surface roughness, geology, imaging, landing site analysis, atmosphere, GIS) and LPL alumni Ali Bramson (radar, midlatitude ice distribution, polar studies, landing site analysis, analogues, ice coring) and Catherine Neish (radar, ice detection, surface roughness, analogues, imaging, astrobiology). 

NASA and three international partners have signed a statement of intent to advance Mars Ice Mapper, a possible robotic Mars ice mapping mission, which could help identify abundant, accessible ice for future candidate landing sites on the Red Planet. The agencies have agreed to establish a joint concept team to assess mission potential, as well as partnership opportunities. If the concept moves forward, the mission could be ready to launch as early as 2026.