Collateral piece created by Nikki Cassis for the media that attended the NASA OTES instrument viewing day.

1. Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE)
combines the creative strengths of both science and engineering with the research and
educational activities of the school, setting the stage for a new era of exploration – of Earth,
of space, and of the future.
We conduct field work on every continent on Earth; send probes to
the Moon, Mars, Venus, and Mercury; and employ ground-based and
orbiting telescopes to interrogate deep space.
Diverse research mission:
• Astrobiology & Exoplanets • Geological Sciences,
• Astronomy & Astrophysics Geochemistry, Geophysics
• Cosmology • Planetary Sciences
• Earth Systems Sciences • Science Education
• Environmental Sciences • Systems Engineering
We are developing and employing new strategies for world-class
scientific exploration, educating a new generation of explorers, and
promoting a greater public understanding and appreciation of science.
SESE is a vibrant community of 71 faculty, over 150 research
scientists and postdoctoral scholars, over 130 graduate
students, and over 400 undergraduates supported by an
administrative and operations staff of more than 20.
Training the next generation of explorers
research with impact
BY THE NUMBERS
• $30M in research expenditures
• Participating in 8 NASA
missions, 3 more in the wings
• One of only ~5 universities
capable of building flight
instruments for space
• Earth Science program
ranked #20 by U.S. News &
World Report
• Over 30,000 individual
meteorites, the largest
university-collection in the world
• Annually expose ~5,000
undergraduate students to the
Earth and space sciences
• 30,000 visitors in the last
year through our facilities
The edge of exploration
Undergraduate Studies
• B.S. in Earth & Space Exploration
• B.A. in Earth & Environmental Studies
• B.A.E. Earth & Space Education*
• B.S.E. Aerospace Engineering**
Graduate Studies
• M.S. in Geological Sciences
• Ph.D. in Geological Sciences
• Ph.D. in Astrophysics
• Ph.D. in Exploration Systems Design
*In collaboration with the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College | **In collaboration with the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
degree programs

2. More than 150 ASU faculty members have some involvement with the space
industry. Over the past two fiscal years, these relationships translated into $69
million in research funding through 211 awards. About 60 percent of those awards
came through SESE and the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. ASU scientists
will play key roles in several upcoming NASA missions:
OSIRIS REx:
This asteroid sample-return mission will include an instrument designed
and built at ASU by Professor Phil Christensen
called OTES. OTES’ role is to map the
asteroid’s mineralogy. This will help mission
scientists choose a location to collect a sample
of Bennu’s rocks and soil, which will be the first
asteroid sample to be returned to Earth.
Launch date: 2016
MARS ROVER 2020:
NASA will send another rover to the Red Planet
to seek signs of past life, to collect and store
samples that could be returned to Earth in the
future, and to test new technology to benefit
future robotic and human exploration of Mars.
ASU Professor Jim Bell will design, deliver and
oversee the Mastcam-Z imaging investigation,
a pair of color panoramic zoom cameras.
Launch date: 2020
EUROPA CLIPPER:
ASU professors Philip Christensen, Mikhail
Zolotov and Everett Shock are involved with
NASA’s newly announced robotic mission to
investigate whether conditions suitable for life
exist at Jupiter’s moon Europa. One of the
mission’s instruments, E-THEMIS, will be built
at ASU by Christensen.
Launch date: 2020s
NASAmissions
Lindy Elkins-Tanton, director
Lindy Elkins-Tanton, an expert in planet
formation and evolution, joined SESE
in 2014. Her scientific studies explore
planetary formation, magma oceans
and subsequent planetary evolution,
formation of large volcanic provinces
and interactions between silicate
planets and their atmospheres.
After graduating from MIT
with a bachelor’s degree in
geology and a master’s in
geochemistry, she worked
in business for eight years,
with five years spent
writing business plans for
young high-tech ventures,
before returning to MIT for her doctorate.
She went on to pursue research
opportunities at Brown University,
then joined the MIT faculty. Within 10
years of completing her doctorate, she
was recruited to Carnegie Institution
for Science in Washington, D.C., to
serve as director of the Department of
Terrestrial Magnetism.
leadership
An academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences SESE.ASU.EDU | 602-710-7169 | ncassis@asu.edu