Cryogenic Chemistry Studies of Water Ice Mixtures Germane to Outer Planet Satellites

Organization

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

0051-NPP-NOV
26-JPL-Planet Sci

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

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 are designed to advance NASA’s missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.

The Voyager, Galileo and Cassini missions have provided an amazing yield of scientific results. Among these are new, strange and even bizarre observations of the icy bodies that exist in the outer solar system (e.g., global sub‑ice oceans on Europa, geysers that eject water and carbon‑bearing compounds into space on Enceladus, surfaces stained by sulfur and its chemical reaction products and nitrogen materials that may be distributed between Titan and Rhea at Saturn).

We are examining photochemical reaction processes with step‑wise variable control of wavelength in order to understand and unravel the nature of the processes active on these bodies and to understand the physical aspects of the water ice surfaces that respond to solar photons and thermal cycling. These very precise, definitive laboratory data will be used to compare laboratory signatures with spacecraft observations – hopefully elucidating materials present and processes responsible for their existence.

Opportunities exist to work in the laboratory with unique, state‑of‑the‑art investigative equipment that prepares and follows the physical processes and chemical reactions in highly characterized doped water ice layers by utilizing optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

References:

1. R. Hodyss, P. V. Johnson, G.

E. Orzechowska, and I. Kanik, Carbon dioxide segregation in mixed CO₂:

H₂O ices, Icarus (2007), doi:
10.1016/j.icarus.

2. G.

E. Orzechowska, J.

D. Goguen, P. V. Johnson,

A. Tsapin, and I. Kanik, Ultraviolet Photolysis of Amino Acids in a 100K Water Ice Matrix:
Application to the Outer Solar System Bodies, Icarus, 187, 584‑591 (2007).

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

Planetary Science

Paul Johnson

paul.v.johnsona.gov

818‑393‑4749

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Mikeala

• Degree:
  Doctoral Degree.