We study habitability and potential biosignatures across a wide variety of bodies in the Universe, ranging from early Earth to exoplanets. Our work includes learning about the evolution of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, biosignature preservation in the geologic record, astronomical life detection techniques, the history of habitable environments across the Solar System, and the relationship between planetary habitability and stellar properties.
Faculty: Borlina, Horgan, Olson, Pearce
We use laboratory experiments and computer simulations to study cloud formation and atmospheric evolution on a range of planets. We also analyze geological records in order to understand what they teach us about climate history on Earth, Mars, and beyond.
Faculty: A. Johnson, Olson, Pearce, Tremblay
We investigate the evolution of planetary bodies by combining geochemical measurements, experimental techniques, petrology, and thermodynamic modeling. We integrate laboratory studies and theory with spacecraft data, sample return missions, and instrument development efforts supporting human and robotic planetary exploration.
Faculty: Horgan, K. Prissel, T. Prissel, Thompson, Tremblay, Wiens
We study the interiors, geodynamics, tectonics, thermal evolution, and impact processes across the solid bodies of the Solar System using data returned from spacecraft missions and sophisticated numerical models.
Faculty: Borlina, Bramson, Freed, B. Johnson, K. Prissel, T. Prissel, Sori
We study the mineralogical, morphological, and tectonic evolution of planetary surfaces using remote sensing analysis, field and laboratory analog studies, and computational methods to understand the processes and environments that shape the landscapes of planets.
Faculty: Bramson, Horgan, B. Johnson, Minton, K. Prissel, T. Prissel, Sori, Thompson, Tremblay
We use state-of-the-art laboratory experiments to analyze extraterrestrial samples, including meteorites, Moon rocks returned by Apollo astronauts, and materials collected from asteroids. Our techniques allow us to study the physical and chemical evolution of the surface of the Earth and other planets and moons.
Faculty: Borlina, K. Prissel, T. Prissel, Thompson, Tremblay
We use observations of populations of Solar System objects and their orbits, combined with computer simulations, to study the formation and evolution of planetary and satellite systems to understand how our Solar System and others developed through time.
Faculty: Minton
We have been and are continuing to be involved with NASA and international spacecraft missions, including MESSENGER, Hayabusa2, OSIRIS-REx, GRAIL, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers, Mars Odyssey, Dawn, and more. We are also active in planning the next generation of robotic spacecraft missions, human exploration, and astronomical observatories.
Faculty: All
Inside NASA's Prep for the Moon, Mars, and the Search for Life
12-11-2025
NASA on YouTube — NASA experts take you behind the scenes in Iceland, where they study icy volcanoes, lava fields, hydrothermal vents, and other extreme environments that mimic other worlds. EAPS Assistant Professor Ali Bramson and her research team are working to figure out how astronauts can find and characterize water/ice and what is needed to prepare them for these activities.
The evolutionary history of kissing, moss in space, and the origins of the moon
12-11-2025
NPR Short Wave Podcast— Now, a new paper in the journal Science is attempting to figure out what this object Theia was made out of and where in the solar system it came from. EAPS's Kelsey Prissel made an appearance on the podcast.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Found Evidence of Tropical Storms on Mars
12-10-2025
Vice — In a new study published in Communications Earth and Environment, led by Adrian Broz of Purdue University EAPS, researchers report that these aluminum-rich rocks scattered around Jezero Crater have the same chemical signature as kaolinite formed in Earth’s tropical climates after millions of years of water slowly stripping minerals from rock.
Mars May Have Lightning, Scientists Find
10-10-2025
Scientific American — For years scientists have suspected that there is electrical activity on Mars. A study now confirms it: particles in the dusty Martian atmosphere rub against one another, building up electrical charge that discharges in the form of tiny lightning arcs. Aside from Earth, lightning and electrical activity were only known to occur on Saturn and Jupiter. EAPS's Roger Wiens was quoted in the article.
Findings suggest red planet was warmer, wetter billions of years ago
12-10-2025
Rocks that stood out as light-colored dots on the reddish-orange surface of Mars now are the latest evidence that areas of the small planet may have once supported wet oases with humid climates and heavy rainfall comparable to tropical climates on Earth.
Scientists say Bennu samples hold a trove of life-building ingredients
12-10-2025
MSN — Work led by planetary scientists at Purdue University describes Bennu as a carbonaceous asteroid whose composition fits with scenarios in which such bodies helped in seeding the early Earth with both water and carbon. In that picture, brine-filled pores and fractures on the parent body would have acted as miniature chemical reactors, cycling organics through different temperatures and concentrations.
Mars Sample That May Contain Evidence of Life Might Never Come Home
11-19-2025
Scientific American — Right now one of the most advanced planetary explorers ever built is scouring the surface of Mars. Supported by a team of hundreds of scientists back on Earth, the Perseverance rover has traveled nearly the distance of a marathon to answer some of the biggest questions about our neighboring world. EAPS's Briony Horgan was quoted in the article.
NASA rover spots something on Mars that doesn't belong there
11-17-2025
Mashable — NASA's Perseverance rover has identified an exotic rock on Mars that may be an iron-nickel meteorite, according to scientists on the mission team. EAPS's Candice Bedford was quoted in the article.