From Pathfinder to Perseverance: A Planetary Scientist’s Journey 🔍
Origin Story: A Spark from the Museum
A childhood visit to the Air and Space Museum sparked a lifelong love of space. Inspired by the Pathfinder mission and an exhibit on the Moon. Declared: “I’m going to discover water on the Moon.” Katie determined: “I want to work on another planet.” From Caltech to JPL, now as acting project scientist for Perserverance.
Katie has been working on Perseverance rover, now 4.5 years into the mission.
Carries ~40 sample tubes.
32 filled, 7 left—final stages of a historic sample collection.
Decisions now more deliberate with remaining tubes.
Once a lake with rivers, Jezero Crater offers strong evidence for past water.
Home to sedimentary rocks, excellent for preserving signs of ancient environments.
Special focus on carbonates—formed from surface water + CO₂:
Preserve unique environmental signals.
Key to understanding Mars’ paleoclimate.
Sample with "leopard spots"—dark rims, light interiors.
Possible signs of oxidation-reduction reactions.
These could hint at the presence of microbial life.
And much more ! Tune into this episode to hear more from the Acting Project Scientist for the Perserverance rover at NASA's JPL.
