April 22, 2025, TUCSON, Ariz. – It’s often assumed that planetary scientists are interested in all things outer space, but among the gas giants, far-flung asteroids and mysterious moons, Earth is often the subject of their research interest – from the effects of climate change to the origins of life and everything in between.
To understand the origins of the Solar System, planetary scientists must understand Earth’s origins; Researchers use radar to probe the subsurface of both Mars and Earth; Scientists read Earth’s history written in rocks like they do on the Moon.
“There is vast overlap between the study of the Earth and the study of other worlds in our Solar System and around other stars. After all, Earth is a planet,” said Planetary Science Institute CEO and Director Mark Sykes. “It is our touchstone as we explore the universe.”
To celebrate this Earth Day, we’re highlighting Earth science by PSI experts.
If the following experts aren’t the right fit for your story, try our Find an Expert search tool.
Wrangling ocean pollution
Between Hawaii and California, trash swirls in giant ocean currents, caught up in the infamous, Texas-sized Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This is just one of many found across the globe. By analyzing where large-scale ocean currents tend to aggregate trash, PSI Research Scientist Rodrigo Duran and his coauthors worked out where ocean pollution cleanup boats should park in order to optimize the amount of trash they capture while minimizing fuel usage.
Rodrigo Duran
Research Scientist
[email protected]
The secret behind life’s first spark
The early Earth was an extreme place. Asteroids pummeled the surface. Volcanoes spewed lava and carbon dioxide. The thick, toxic atmosphere lacked oxygen. Yet, in this turmoil, life emerged. Scientists still aren’t sure how life first arose and persisted, but new research by Associate Research Scientist Kevin Webster suggests that chemical precursors to life coped with such harsh conditions via reversible changes in activity and protection, a state known as dormancy.
Kevin Webster
Associate Research Scientist
[email protected]
Maps of Earth for a new age
Amanda Hendrix, PSI’s Deputy Director and Senior Scientist, is part of the team that developed Tetracorder – technology that quickly analyzes imaging spectrometer data, or patterns of light emitted or reflected from an object, from huge swaths of land, sea and sky. Tetracorder, led by Senior Scientist Roger Clark (who is currently traveling), is also able to quickly produce mineral maps of a planetary surfaces – including snow melt on Earth.
Amanda Hendrix
Deputy Director and Senior Scientist
[email protected]
Impacts of glacial retreat
Senior Scientist Jeffrey Kargel’s research has taken him around the world to study glacial retreat as the climate warms and how it is tied to the increase in some kinds of climate disasters such as landslides, glacial lake outbursts and avalanches.
Jeffrey Kargel
Senior Scientist
[email protected]
Using Earth as an analog for other planets
Senior Scientist David Crown is one PSI scientist who travels to places on Earth that can serve as a near substitute for terrain on other planets. Such sites are called planetary analogs. For comparative studies of volcanic features on Earth and Mars, Crown and his colleagues conducted investigations in the Pinacate Volcanic Field in Sonora, Mexico. The researchers studied the Ives Flow, a roughly 13,000-year-old basaltic lava flow field that extends for nearly 10 miles between the granitic Sierra Blanca and the Gran Desierto.
David Crown
(Dr. Crown is not available on 4/22 but may be contacted to arrange an interview another time.)
Senior Scientist
[email protected]
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THE PLANETARY SCIENCE INSTITUTE
The Planetary Science Institute is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to Solar System exploration. It is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, where it was founded in 1972.
PSI scientists are involved in numerous NASA and international missions, the study of Mars and other planets, the Moon, asteroids, comets, interplanetary dust, impact physics, the origin of the Solar System, extra-solar planet formation, dynamics, the rise of life, and other areas of research. They conduct fieldwork on all continents around the world. They are also actively involved in science education and public outreach through school programs, children’s books, popular science books and art.
PSI scientists are based in 39 states, the District of Columbia and several international locations.
