Dustin Heese

Dustin is utilizing various forms of spectroscopy (Raman, FTIR, XRF, SEM/BSE/EDS) to determine the detailed mineralogy of potentially biotically mediated iron minerals in conjunction with the assessment of biosignature preservation and detection. The intention of this research is to provide detailed spectral analysis for the assessment of potential biosignatures in analogous minerals on Mars. This research is currently supported by NASA's Planetary Instrument Concepts for the Advancement of Solar System Observations (PICASSO) Program.



Research Interests:

-Biosignature detection

-Origin of life

-Mineralogy

-Astrobiology