Jessica Barnes
Jessica BARNES is an assistant professor in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the College of Science at the University of Arizona, which led the OSIRIS-REx mission in collaboration with NASA. Prior to her appointment, she was a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Barnes’ research centers on understanding the origin and evolution of volatiles in the inner Solar System. She utilizes a combination of electron microscopy and high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry to study extraterrestrial materials. Most recently she has been using coordinated electron and ion beam studies of meteorites to investigate the evolution of water in the Martian crust. She and her team are also assessing the inventories and origins of volatiles on primitive asteroids, including Bennu. Samples of Bennu were captured and returned to earth during the OSIRIS-REx mission.