Vigneshwaran Krishnamoorthi
Research Assistant
Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi
Education: MSc Government Arts College in Salem Tamilnadu;
Research Areas: Mars simulation experiments, Mars-analog sites, Planetary Geology, Meteorites, Meteorite craters
Vigneshwaran Krishnamoorthi is Research Assistant working under Dr. Dimitra Atri in the Mars Research Group at the NYUAD Center for Astrophysics and Space Science.
He is a planetary geologist and his research involves exploration of planetary analogue sites for Mars and the Moon in the UAE, and analysis of NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rover data.
He is also conducting organic degradation experiments in simulated Martian and Lunar environments, and has expertise in handling instruments such as PXRD, XRF, SEM-EDS, Micro CT scans, petrological microscopes, and Raman and Fluorescence spectroscopy. He is also involved in the construction of NYUAD’s Planetary Simulation Chamber.
Additionally, he is working on ISRU lunar mining exploration studies in collaboration with Prof. Ponniseril Somasundran’s group at Columbia University. He has completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Applied Geology at Government Arts College, Salem-7, India.
Research
My current focus is Mars simulation experiments, observational data analysis from Mars missions and Martian geological analogue studies in the UAE. Degradation of amino acids in Mars simulant conditions, under the supervision of Dr.Dimitra Atri Research Scientist, Center for Space Science, New York University Abu Dhabi.