As NASA prepared for the planned launch of the Artemis 2 mission, the first crewed space flight around the moon in more than 50 years, one NASA Scientist visited West Chester University.
On Apr. 1, Dr. Elizabeth Rampe, a Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, presented “Minerals on Mars: Methods, Analysis, and Geologic History of the Red Planet.” Rampe studies Mars geology and mineralogy and is the deputy principal investigator of the CheMin instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover.
Rampe is an exploration mission scientist within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at the Johnson Space Center. The ARES division performs the physical science research at the Johnson Space Center and is the curator for all NASA-held extraterrestrial samples.
In her presentation, she detailed how Mars was once much more geologically active than it is today. Minerals in its ancient igneous and sedimentary rocks are the key to understanding the planet’s geologic history. Rampe will discuss orbital and in-situ mineralogical detections, their implications for Mars’ geological evolution, and future directions for Mars mineralogy.
By studying minerals found on ancient Mars that were formed by water-rock interactions and similar minerals in analog environments on Earth, she helps characterize early martian environments. Her research on the evolution of the early martian surface has implications concerning its past habitability since some minerals are diagnostic of the environments in which they were formed. Researching martian planetary processes and environment is central to data gathering for NASA’s future mission to Mars. Rampe is also interested in the relationship between human mission operations and science. She supports human analog missions and studies the incorporation of science and scientists into extravehicular activities (EVA).
This lecture series, hosted by the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at WCU, is named for Sandra “Sandie” F. Pritchard Mather ’64, M’68. Mather earned a B.S.in elementary education and an M.Ed. in geography from what was then West Chester State College, and her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. She returned to her alma mater to teach in the West Chester Laboratory School before accepting a position in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, teaching both undergraduate and graduate geology, meteorology, and geomorphology. After retiring in 1999, she was named WCU emerita professor of geology and astronomy. During the University’s Sesquicentennial in 2021-22, she was selected as one of the 150 Most Influential Women of West Chester. A long-time supporter of the University and its students, she is also the namesake of the WCU planetarium.
Learn more at WCU. Enrolling more than 17,000 students, West Chester University is the largest institution in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, the University is a comprehensive public institution, offering a diverse range of more than 200 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs in more than 50 fields of study.
