2024-2026 Internship - Dragonfly Guest Investigator - UV Fluorescence of Titan's Organic Materials
Company: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Labor
Location: Laurel
Posted on: April 23, 2024
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Job Description:
Description
Have you dreamed of flying on another world?Have you imagined a
desert world where the sand dunes are made of the building blocks
of life, and it rains methane?Are you prepared to be a part of a
journey to the most Earth-like and yet alien world in the solar
system?This world is Saturn's moon Titan, and Dragonfly, the
mission headed to it, seeks Student & Early Career
Investigators.Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator
Program:Saturn's moon Titan is the only moon in our solar system
with a dense atmosphere, which supports an Earth-like hydrological
cycle of methane clouds, rain, lakes and seas. Complex organic
surface materials preserve, in a deep freeze, the types of organic
chemicals that were present on Earth before life developed. Titan's
icy crust floats atop an interior liquid water ocean. Dragonfly is
a rotorcraft lander (an octocopter) that will explore a variety of
locations on Titan. Launching in 2028 and reaching Titan in 2034,
Dragonfly will journey farther than any robotic lander has ever
traveled. With one hop on average every other Titan-day (one
Titan-day equals 16 Earth days), the rotorcraft will travel from
its initial landing site to areas over 80 kilometers away during
its planned 3.3-year mission.Each Student Investigator will work
with one or more Dragonfly mission team members to conduct Titan
research, help formulate Dragonfly mission science and operations
plans, or assist in the development of instrumentation, hardware,
or testing for a two-year term. Students dedicate 30% of their time
(concentrated during summer and academic breaks) at APL and/or
their Dragonfly mentor's home institution and will receive annual
funding for travel to Dragonfly team meetings and to publish and
present results at a scientific conference. A faculty mentor at
each student's home institution will be granted travel support to
attend the annual Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator
Program kickoff meeting.At 90K, Titan's surface is expected to be
composed of water ice and organics. The latter may be liquid (e.g.,
methane and ethane) or solid (e.g., acetylene, butane, and
benzene). Some of the expected organic compounds are known to
fluoresce when illuminated by UV light. Cataloging the fluorescence
properties of tholins, lab-made analogs of complex organic
compounds that form in Titan's atmosphere and are thought to settle
onto the surface and accumulate into dunes, will provide a useful
reference library for in situ observations made with Dragonfly.
Dragonfly's camera suite, DragonCam, is capable of illuminating the
surface with UV LEDs and observing the reflectance in 3 colors to
help classify surface materials and inform the decision of whether
or not to conduct additional investigations (e.g., take a sample,
and analyze it with other instruments).Project Description: UV
Fluorescence of Titan's Organic Materials In this project the guest
investigator will illuminate analogs of Titan surface materials
with UV light at 90K in the Cryogenic Chemistry Laboratory at the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and record the fluorescence spectra.
Analogs will include tholins, smaller aromatic molecules, and
organics that have been chemically modified by contact with liquid
water. This catalog of reflectance properties will then be used to
model the spectral response that will be observed by
DragonCam.TasksThe student will be trained to handle tholin and
other organic samples, operate the cryogenic sample stage, and
operate the spectrometer at JPL. Observed reflectance spectra will
then be used at APL to model the DragonCam measured spectra using
specifications of the LEDs and camera. The project tasks
include:Preparing samples for spectral analysis and conducting
measurements.Analyzing experimental results Developing a catalog of
reflectance spectraDepending on progress, the student may also
image the samples with a benchtop model of DragonCam's microscopic
imager and LED suite. This project will primarily be completed in
the Cryogenic Chemistry Laboratory at JPL during at least the first
summer, in close collaboration with scientists and engineers at
APL. OutcomeThe collected reflectance spectra will provide a novel
catalog of UV properties of Titan-relevant materials that will be
of high interest to the Dragonfly team and the Titan community.
This project will contribute to the development of DragonCam and
the operational plans for imaging and analyzing Titan's surface
using UV LEDs. The results of this study are expected to be
published in a scientific journal and/or presented at a scientific
conference.More information on the Dragonfly mission and
instruments can be found in the videos at
Qualifications
You meet our minimum qualifications for the job if you...Are
CURRENTLY pursuing a master's or doctoral degree in the physical
sciences, biological sciences, computer sciences, mathematics or
engineering at a U.S. institution AND will continue doing so
throughout the 2-year duration of the internship.Have at least a
3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scaleHave demonstrated ability to conduct
independent research or developmentHave excellent organizational
and communication skills (written and oral)Have the ability to work
both independently and in a team environment. Have successfully
completed some coursework in chemistry and physics, and have
laboratory experience in any physical science or engineering field.
In addition to a mentor on the Dragonfly team who leads this
project, applicants must identify a faculty member at their home
institution who can serve as a faculty mentor for the 2-year
duration of their participation in the program. Include as an
attachment to your profile...
About Us
APL is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All
qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment
without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex, gender
identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age,
physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status,
occupation, marital or familial status, political opinion, personal
appearance, or any other characteristic protected by applicable
law.APL is committed to promoting an innovative environment that
embraces diversity, encourages creativity, and supports inclusion
of new ideas. In doing so, we are committed to providing reasonable
accommodation to individuals of all abilities, including those with
disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to
participate in any part of the hiring process, please contact
Accommodations@jhuapl.edu. Only by ensuring that everyone's voice
is heard are we empowered to be bold, do great things, and make the
world a better place.
Keywords: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Labor, Towson , 2024-2026 Internship - Dragonfly Guest Investigator - UV Fluorescence of Titan's Organic Materials, Other , Laurel, Maryland
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