Planetary nuclear spectroscopy

Mauricio Ayllon Unzueta

NASA Postdoctoral Fellow (NPP)

Abstract: Planetary nuclear spectroscopy is a blanket term used to describe gamma ray and neutron spectroscopy of planetary surfaces. Spectrometers of this kind are able to measure the bulk elemental composition of a planetary object from different platforms such as orbiters and landers. In this talk, I will give an overview of planetary nuclear spectroscopy and some of its challenges with a focus on the NASA New Frontiers Mission Dragonfly, which will visit Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in 2034.

Bio: Mauricio Ayllon Unzueta is a postdoctoral fellow working for the astrochemistry group at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Mauricio received his BS degree in Engineering Physics from Eastern Michigan University in 2012, then received his MSc degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 2015, and finally he got his PhD from the University of California Berkeley in 2020.