Mars Atmospheric Data Analysis and Modelling

ORAU; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

ORAU is offering a Postdoctoral position through the NASA Postdoctoral Program, focusing on the Martian atmosphere. The position is competitive and involves analyzing and modeling data from Mars missions.

Successful candidates will engage in research aimed at understanding the atmospheric dynamics and water cycle of Mars. A Doctoral Degree is required, and applications must include a research proposal and letters of recommendation.

The role is based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and seeks individuals eligible for the U.S. citizenship or permanent residency.

Qualifications

• Research proposal is required.
• Three letters of recommendation are required.
• Official doctoral transcript documents must be submitted.

Responsibilities

• Analyze and synthesize data from Mars orbiters and landers.
• Conduct relevant modeling studies related to the Martian atmosphere.
• Examine and compare data sets for trends and differences.

Education

Doctoral Degree

Job description

Overview

Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Reference Code: 0008-NPP-NOV26-JPL-PlanetSci

Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

How to Apply: All applications must be submitted in Zintellect. Please visit the NASA Postdoctoral Program website for application instructions and requirements: How to Apply | NASA Postdoctoral Program (orau.org). A complete application to the NASA Postdoctoral Program includes: Research proposal; Three letters of recommendation; Official doctoral transcript documents.

Application Deadline: 11/1/2026 6:00:59 PM Eastern Time Zone

Description

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and designed to advance NASA’s missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.

The successful post-doc will participate in a program which focuses on understanding the Martian atmosphere, its variability, and its interaction with the surface through observing and/or modeling its primary traceable constituents, water vapor, water-ice and dust, and observing or modeling related surface features. The post-doc will be expected to analyze and synthesize data from Mars orbiters and landers and/or conduct relevant modeling studies. The primary goals of this program include gaining insight into (1) the character of and changes in the atmosphere on diurnal, seasonal, interannual, and longer timescales, (2) the current climate regime, its history and evolution, and (3) the nature of the water cycle and its relationship to long term sources and sinks. Thus, the post-doc would likely conduct a combination of modeling studies and data analyses, possibly including modeling climate evolution. Any modeling studies would be constrained by and validated against appropriate existing data that the post-doc would analyze. Data analysis projects would be used to examine and compare data sets to search for trends and differences spatially and temporally. Examples of recent work include publications by Tamppari and collaborators (2020) and by Savijärvi et al. (2020) on humidity observations and related modeling at Mars Phoenix site.

Location

Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, California

Field of Science

Planetary Science

Advisors

Leslie Tamppari

[e-mail]

818-393-1226

Eligibility

Eligibility is currently open to:

• U.S. Citizens;
• U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR);
• Foreign Nationals eligible for an Exchange Visitor J-1 visa status; and,
• Applicants for LPR, asylees, or refugees in the U.S. at the time of application with 1) a valid EAD card and 2) I-485 or I-589 forms in pending status

Applications with citizens from designated countries will not be accepted at this time, unless they are Legal Permanent Residents of the United States. A complete list of Designated Countries can be found at: NASA OIIR Export Control.

Application Questions

Questions about this opportunity? Please email [e-mail]

Point of Contact

Mikeala

Qualifications

• Degree: Doctoral Degree.