Research

Volatiles and Ocean Worlds

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Enhanced color view of Ceres from Dawn framing camera data (NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA)

Ice-rich, organic-rich, and with a surprising amount of recent geologic activity, Ceres has shown some asteroids are geologically active worlds and may even support subsurface water brines today. Upcoming and proposed missions to Europa, Enceladus, and icy bodies provide exciting opportunities to understand these worlds.

  • Bright Spots on Ceres from Dawn/FC and Dawn/VIR
  • Quantitative Composition of Ceres from Dawn/VIR and Dawn/GRaND
  • Spectroscopy of ices and their mixtures
  • Micro-imaging spectroscopy of carbonaceous chondrites