As the Principal Investigator of ESPRESSO, Parker brings broad scientific expertise, team leadership experience, and mission planning experience gained as Co-I on NASA’s New Horizons extended mission into the Kuiper Belt. PI Parker is an expert in observational, theoretical, and statistical methodologies for exploring the origin and history of our solar system as expressed through its populations of minor planets. In addition to managing the ESPRESSO team, Parker leads the Airborne Space Environment Chamber effort.

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Deputy PI Walsh leads the Regolith Development Working Group as a Co-I for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid sample return mission. Walsh is responsible for the Sampleability Map and sits on the Sample Site Selection Board for OSIRIS-REx. This experience enables Walsh to lead the reduced gravity impact investigation team, and build the science knowledge and instrumentation toolset for future missions that will interact with the surfaces of asteroids or other airless bodies.

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Formerly an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Co-I Soto worked on a wide range of projects, from advanced concept design with Team-X to instrument technology development to flight science operations on NASA’s Deep Impact mission. Now as a scientist, Soto studies atmospheric dynamics and contributes to pathfinding research for future instrument suites to explore other worlds. On ESPRESSO, Soto leads the GraVeTAS development and experiments, leaning on his extensive experience in instrument development.

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Co-I Nowicki has nearly 15 years of experience as an optical scientist developing laser-based instrumentation and infrared imagers for use on planetary exploration missions. His current research entails laser anemometry and nephelometry instruments for use on Martian rovers and in orbit, as well as developing a laser ablation resonance ionization mass spectrometer used for age-dating rocks. Nowicki is involved in developing all of the ESPRESSO laser-based techniques, and leads the BLASTERLab efforts.

Co-I Singer is an expert in observational characterization of ejecta processes and long runout landslides on airless bodies, and fills an important role in the efforts to adapt and calibrate terrestrial landslide tools for hazard assessment on small airless bodies.

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As the lead of the SwRI laser lab and developer of a laser ablation resonance ionization mass spectrometer at SwRI Co-I Anderson brings his deep experience to assist in building and operating the BLASTERLab facility at SwRI and advising the Field LIBS and Raman research.

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Leveraging many years of experience gained from developing laser ablation resonance ionization mass spectrometers at SwRI, Co-I Whitaker assists in building and operating the BLASTERLab facility at SwRI.

Co-I Durda has a long track record of studying high-velocity impacts, asteroid surfaces and granular mechanics. His experience building and deploying experimental apparatus in a wide range of labs and environments (AVGR, reduced gravity flights, high-altitude flights and suborbital flights) is important for numerous investigations in ESPRESSO.

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Co-I Cintala has contributed extensively to the field of regolith development and evolution through high-speed impact experimentation. He developed the original chamber upon which ASEC is modeled, and he is involved in all aspects of ASEC development and operation on reduced gravity flights.

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The role of thermomechanical processes in the regolith production and surface evolution of airless bodies is important to numerous ESPRESSO investigations, and Co-I Molaro will provide broad expertise in this effort given her background studying thermally induced stress in rocky and icy materials at a variety of scales, from micro- to macroscopic.

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A valuable link to terrestrial landslide expertise and hazard mapping is provided by Co-I McKinnon, a research analyst with joint appointment at SETI and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She has produced the largest published collection of landslide case studies for use in model validation, verification, and calibration. She is a United Nations delegate for hazard and risk reduction, and she was appointed by the FEMA Deputy Administrator to provide expert consulting on integrating science and research into hazards policy and emergency management training. Her expertise gives her the tools to bridge between on- and off-planet landslide studies in a hazard analysis context.

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Co-I Thomas is a very experienced NEO and asteroid observer, having numerous small bodies in a wide range of wavelengths from telescopes all over the globe and in space. She was the lead of the JWST Solar System Working Group on NEO science, and is the Hammel GTO science lead for NEO observations. Her role as observational liaison with UVOIR Optical constants leverages this experience to ensure that observers’ needs are met.

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An assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, Co-I Horst has established a planetary atmospheres lab that has unique capabilities to study important wavelength regimes. Leadership of a University lab and valuable background with these facilities positions her as the lead of the UVOIR Optical Constants investigation.

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Co-I Lewis brings experience as a participating scientist on the Mars Science Laboratory, where he is deeply involved in MSL operations and a frequent user of MSL ChemCam data. He also brings extensive experience in leveraging LIBS technology for field analog research. He is applying this expertise by leading studies of the exploration roles of field LIBS and Raman instrumentation for use by astronauts.

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Co-I Hanley has experience managing and operating a regolith lab and optical constants lab, and she is applying experience in many ESPRESSO investigations for sample acquisition, preparation, and management. Furthermore her experience with regolith properties and mechanics, particularly with Mars, provides valuable insights into the investigations of granular media response to impacts.

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Co-I Grundy is a very experienced astronomical observer, leading the New Horizons composition mapping team, and he has vast experience with laboratory measurement of optical constants. He assists in the UVOIR optical constants data analysis efforts.

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Co-I Protopapa is a leading expert in radiative transfer modeling to analyze ground- and space-based spectral data sets (Herschel, Deep Impact, New Horizons, and more) to characterize the surface properties of many solar system objects. She is also a Co-Investigator on the New Horizons extended mission into the Kuiper Belt. She brings laboratory experience with respect to optical constants measurement of a variety of astrophysically-relevant materials, and has substantial experience with data archiving at the PDS. She leads the optical constants data analysis and PDS archiving efforts. 

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Dr. Yant has a background centered in planetary science; her interests are expansive and include experimental petrology, geochemistry, spectroscopy, and remote-sensing. She is working with the ESPRESSO team to acquire optical constant measurements and analyze LIBS and Raman data of target body analogue materials and field sites. 

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