The TREX Team

Portrait of Amanda Hendrix, wearing a black button-up shirt

Amanda Hendrix, Principal Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Portrait of Faith Vilas, wearing a red blazer

Faith Vilas, Deputy Principal Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Assists in TREX task management; expertise in lunar and asteroid spectroscopy, ground-based observing

Portrait of Melissa Lane, wearing a red shirt

Melissa Lane, Theme 1 Lead
Fibernetics, LLC

Coordinates all TREX lab measurements; organizes distribution and archiving of data

Portrait of Maria Banks, wearing a dark blue knit sweater

Maria Banks, Theme 2 Lead
NASA Goddard Space Flight Cente

Leads TREX tasks that integrate laboratory data and lunar remote sensing spacecraft data


Portrait of Deborah Domingue

Deborah Domingue, Theme 3 Lead
Planetary Science Institute

Provides spectrophotometric analysis of spacecraft observations of asteroids as informed by TREX laboratory measurements

Portrait of Eldar Noe Dobrea, wearing a grey button-up shirt

Eldar Noe Dobrea, Theme 4 Lead
Planetary Science Institute

Develops and validates algorithms for analysis and classification of spectral measurements, algorithms for sample identification and selection, and methods to enable remote exploration; leads field component and robot testing in the field

Portrait of Sanlyn Buxner, wearing a blue shirt

Sanlyn Buxner, CS/PE Lead
Planetary Science Institute

Coordinates and manage TREX public outreach activities


Portrait of Jean-Paul Allain, wearing a black suit with a blue shirt and gold tie

Jean-Paul Allain, Theme 3 Co-Investigator
Pennsylvania State Univ.

Leads efforts in in situ in vacuo synergistic He+ and H+ irradiation of loose regolith powder, simultaneous characterization of surface chemistry, mass spectrometry and reflectance


Portait of Amy Barr-Mlinar, wearing a black top and pearl necklace

Amy Barr-Mlinar, Theme 2 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Performs simulations of global impact-induced mixing of subsurface materials to understand the origin of minerals on the surface of the Moon that are thought to arise from depth

Portrait of Roy Christoffersen, wearing a red polo shirt

Roy Christoffersen, Theme 3 Collaborator

NASA Johnson Space Center

Participates in impact simulations in asteroid regolith simulants at JSC

Portrait of Mark Cintala, wearing a tan button-up shirt

Mark Cintala, Theme 3 Collaborator
NASA Johnson Space Center

Participates in impact simulations in asteroid regolith simulants at JSC

Portrait of Roger Clark, wearing a dark green shirt

Roger Clark, Themes 1 through 4 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Assesses results of TREX lab spectroscopic studies and develop expert system rules for Tetracorder, deriving compositional and grain size products

Portrait of Ryan Clegg-Watkins, wearing a black tanktop and wood bead necklace

Ryan Clegg-Watkins, Themes 2 and 4 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Performs comparisons between TREX lab data, M3 spectral data, and LROC photometric data of the Moon to understand compositional variations at lunar study areas

Ed Cloutis, Theme 1 Co-investigator
Univ. Winnipeg

Conducts UV-IR spectral reflectance measurements on samples

Portrait of Darby Dyar, waring an orange and white striped tank top

Darby Dyar, Theme 1 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute & Mount Holyoke College

Obtains, handpicks, crushes, and sieves mineral separates and mineral mixtures for use in TREX lab experiments; oversees acquisition of Raman and Mössbauer data; coordinates distribution of samples to the various TREX laboratories; responsible for storage, inventory, and distribution of lunar samples.

Portrait of Rebecca Ghent, wearing a patterned white button-up sleeveless shirt

Rebecca Ghent, Theme 2 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Leads efforts to interpret lunar thermal inertia and radar measurements in terms of grain size; leads efforts to produce grain size maps

Portrait of Amara Graps

Amara Graps, Theme 3 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Responsible for deliverables for the TREX asteroid database

Portrait of Jennifer Grier, wearing a black sweater over a bright blue button-up shirt

Jennifer Grier, Theme 2 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Leads and coordinates investigations associated with Optical Maturity (OMAT) of crater ejecta and the upper lunar regolith; assists with comparison of OMAT maps to maps of lunar grain size

Portrait of Joern Helbert, wearing a black button-up shirt

Joern Helbert, Theme 1 Co-Investigator
DLR, Berlin

Assists with laboratory bi-directional reflection spectroscopy measurements at UV-NIR wavelengths; assists with studies on the temperature dependence of emissivity in the near- and mid-infrared

Portrait of Greg Holsclaw, wearing a blue button-up shirt

Greg Holsclaw, Themes 1 and 4 Co-Investigator
Univ. Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP)

Responsible for the successful establishment of a UV-VIS geologic sample and ice spectral reflectance measurement laboratory at LASP; responsible for the procurement and calibration of a commercial UV-VIS field spectrometer, along with collaboration on the analysis of results

Portrait of Henry Hsieh, wearing a grey button-up shirt

Henry Hsieh, Theme 3 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Performs dynamical integrations simulating the evolution of asteroids originating in the main asteroid belt and ending in near-Earth space

Portrait of Jian-Yang Li, wearing a dark red t-shirt

Jian-Yang Li, Theme 3 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Performs photometric modeling and analysis of lab measurements of the spectrophotometric properties of planetary surface analogue materials in the context of NEOs and other groups of small bodies

Mikki Osterloo, Themes 1 and 4 Co-Investigator
Univ. Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP)

Assists with the establishment of the LASP UV-VIS reflectance measurement laboratory; assist with field measurements using the UV-VIS field spectrometer

Neil Pearson, PSI Lab Manager
Planetary Science Institute

Responsible for making UV-NIR reflectance measurements of TREX samples in the PSI lab.

Noah Petra, Theme 2 Co-Investigator
NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center

Performs analysis on localized compositional anomalies using NIR datasets (Moon Mineralogy Mapper) and GRS data from Lunar Prospector


Portrait of Tom Prettyman, wearing a plaid button-up shirt

Tom Prettyman, Themes 2 through 4 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Uses data from the Lunar Prospector Gamma Ray and Neutron Spectrometers to determine concentrations of specific elements and/or mixing fractions of petrologic/mineral end members for investigations of thorium anomalies; acquires and analyze gamma-ray and/or neutron spectroscopy data during fieldoperations to test decision-making algorithms

Portrait of Lynnae Quick, wearing a white blazer over a blue shirt

Lynnae Quick, Theme 2 Co-Investigator
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Uses the lunar volatile map in conjunction with LRO data to investigate possible links between volcanism and enhanced volatile signatures on the moon; uses analytical models to constrain the depths to volatiles in the lunar subsurface for ISRU exploitation.

Portrait of Ed Rivera-Valentin, wearing a grey suit jacket and a bright red bowtie

Ed Rivera-Valentin, Theme 2 Co-Investigator
Lunar and Planetary Institute

Codes and performs simulations of global impact-induced mixing of subsurface materials to understand the origin of minerals on the surface of the Moon that are thought to arise from depth (e.g., olivine); compares outcomes of impact-induced mixing simulations to distributions of minerals on the lunar surface to constrain the depth to the source region of minerals

Portrait of Daniel Wolf Savin, wearing a black coat with a burgendy scarf and black wool felt hat

Daniel Wolf Savin, Theme 3 Co-Investigator
Columbia Univ.

Performs and analyzes laboratory simulations of solar wind ion irradiation of regolith-like loose powders as relates to the surfaces of small bodies


Portrait of Norbert Schorghofer, wearing a light blue button-up shirt

Norbert Schorghofer, Themes 2 and 3 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Develops model of asteroid desiccation for Theme 3; carries out model calculations for lunar ISRU

Portrait of Karen Stockstill Cahill, wearing a light purple button-up shirt

Karen Stockstill Cahill, Theme 3 Co-Investigator
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Univ.

Utilizes meteorite spectra from this study to refine radiative transfer model of Hapke used to predict the bidirectional reflectance spectra of airless planetary bodies and use the model with existing small body spectra to guide meteorite studies

Portrait of David Wettergreen, wearing a blue checkered button-up shirt

David Wettergreen, Theme 4 Co-Investigator
Carnegie Mellon Univ.

Develops and validates algorithms for analysis and classification of spectral measurements, algorithms for sample identification and selection, and methods to enable remote exploration combining on-board autonomy software and planetary scientists

Portrait of Charles Wood, wearing a tan polo shirt

Charles Wood, Theme 2 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Performs comparisons between grain size lunar maps and OMAT maps with lunar volcanic, cryptomare, swirls, pyroclastics, SPA and crater rays/nimbus to discover new anomalous features, to improve interpretation of their formation and modification, and to refine age estimates as craters evolve from immature to maturity

Portrait of Shawn Wright, wearing a grey dress shirt

Shawn Wright, Theme 4 Co-Investigator
Planetary Science Institute

Performs fieldwork and sample collection at two field sites in conjunction with Tetracorder results and spectral analyses

Portrait of David Gaylord pointing at something in the distance while doing fieldwork

David Gaylord, Theme 4 Collaborator

Portrait of Mark Sweeny taken during field work. He's wearing a black jacket with white stripes on the sleeves over a red t-shirt.

Mark Sweeny, Theme 4 Collaborator