Kelsey Young’s research focuses on the integration of science into human exploration. Specifically, Young investigates the science questions, tools and instruments, and operational concepts for the exploration of other planetary surfaces. She also focuses on science operations with NASA's Artemis campaign as both the Artemis Science Flight Operations Lead and in several other capacities. She conducts fieldwork in both impact cratered and volcanic terrains, and evaluates both of these dominant Solar System processes. Young investigates the incorporation of handheld and field portable instruments and technologies into lunar and martian exploration. She conducts research in a number of analog environments, including impact craters, volcanoes, and underwater locations, to simulate a variety of aspects of human space exploration.
Kelsey Evans Young
(RESEARCH AST, PLANETARY STUDIES)
Email: | kelsey.e.young@nasa.gov |
Phone: | 301.614.6749 |
Org Code: | 698 |
Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 698 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
Employer: |
Brief Bio
Research Interests
Incorporation of science into human spaceflight
Solar System: Planetary GeologyYoung works to integrate science priorities and objectives into the human exploration of other planetary surfaces. She works with the flight operations community to develop strategies and procedures for the surface and orbital exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Studies of impact craters and volcanology
Solar System: Planetary GeologyYoung studies impact cratering and volcanology, two dominant surface processes that shape many Solar System bodies. She evaluates lava flow emplacement and modification through a combination of fieldwork and field and laboratory-based geochemistry. She also investigates the bombardment history of the inner Solar System and the impact cratering process by completing fieldwork at terrestrial impact structures and conducting laboratory work on terrestrial and lunar impact samples.
Current Projects
Artemis Science Flight Operations Lead
Since 2022, Dr. Young has served as the Artemis Science Flight Operations Lead for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD). She is responsible for leading the integration of the Artemis Science Team into the broader Artemis flight control structure, as well as coordinating the overall architecture and communications of the lunar science and payload teams within the larger Mission Control flight control framework. She also coordinates Artemis Science Team onboarding and training, the physical workspace and required resources for Science Team operations, and the Science Evaluation Room (SER) training flow. Finally, she manages the generation of all science operations pre-mission products and inputs.
Artemis 2 Lunar Observations and Imaging Campaign Lead
Dr. Young is the lead for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD)'s lunar science objectives for the Artemis 2 mission, including observations and photography of the Moon and the Earth. She is responsible for integrating these objectives into pre-mission planning, timelining, operations product generation, and testing, as well as solidifying and executing the science operations structure for the mission. She also participates in crew training to support these objectives.
NASA Astronaut Training and Field Leadership
Dr. Young is on the leadership team for geoscience training for NASA astronauts (Astronaut Candidates and assigned crew) and other personnel. She develops and delivers both classroom and field training, as well as serves as the Field Lead for several of NASA's science field training sites.
Positions/Employment
Research Space Scientist
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD
April 2018 - Present
Exploration Scientist
Jacobs/UTEP at NASA Johnson Space Center - NASA JSC
August 2016 - April 2018
Postdoctoral Research Associate
CRESST/University of Maryland, College Park - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Planetary Geodynamics Laboratory
July 2014 - August 2016
Graduate Student Research Associate
Arizona State University - School of Earth and Space Exploration
July 2013 - May 2014
NASA Graduate Student Research Fellow
Arizona State University/NASA Johnson Space Center - School of Earth and Space Exploration
July 2010 - July 2013
Graduate Student Research Associate
Arizona State University - School of Earth and Space Exploration
August 2009 - July 2010
Education
2012 – M.S. – Geological Sciences, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
2009 – B.S. – Geological Sciences, Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Geosciences, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
Professional Service
2021-2022 Member, SMD CaRI Team (Contamination and Research Integrity) to provide science analysis across Artemis
Sept-Nov 2020 Artemis III Science Definition Team
2020 - Present Organizing Committee and Session Chair, Lunar Surface Science Workshop
2018 - Present Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) Executive Committee, Human Exploration Chair
2018 - Present NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Colloquium Committee
Session Chair at Numerous Scientific Meetings (AGU, LPSC, GSA, NASA Exploration Science Forum, etc.)
Section Co-Lead, New Views of the Moon II Book Volume, Future Lunar Exploration
Awards
Awards:
NASA Early Career Achievement Medal - 2020
NASA Group Achievement Award: ISFM (Internal Scientist Funding Model) Team - 2020
NASA Group Achievement Award: Awarded to the 2010 Desert-RATS Science Team – Awarded 2011
Other Professional Information
Relevant Experience:
Co-Lead of the Goddard Instrument Field Team
Theme Lead and Field Lead, RISE2 SSERVI Team
Theme Lead, GEODES SSERVI Team
Science Lead and Mission Management Team, NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) Project
Core Team Member and Trainer, NASA Astronaut Training Leadership Team
Co-Investigator, Heimdall Instrument Team (PI A. Yingst)
Principal Investigator, SHyRE PSTAR Team (Scientific Hybrid Reality Environments)
Principal Investigator, TubeX PSTAR Team
Job-Related Training:
2023 NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) Wilderness First Aid
2023 NOLS CPR and AED
2019 American Red Cross CPR, First Aid, and CPR
2017 NOLS Leadership and Team Skills backpacking course, Wind River Range, Wyoming
Invited Presentations:
2017 Invited Presentation, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
2017 Invited Speaker and Panelist, Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium, “Exploration Telepresence”
2017 Keynote Speaker, University of Texas, El Paso’s Annual Geology Department Colloquium
2017 Poster, Invitation-only Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop, “Developing Science Operations Concepts for the Future of Planetary Surface Exploration”
2016 Invited Presentation, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, “Preparing for the Next Generation of Crewed Planetary Surface Exploration: Incorporating Field Portable Technology”
2016 Invited Presentation, GSFC Solar System Exploration Division Director’s Seminar
2015 Invited Presentation, Franklin & Marshall College
2015 Invited Presentation, Stony Brook University
2015 Invited Presentation, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
2014 Invited Presentation, Lunar and Planetary Institute
Outreach Experience
Speaker on numerous TV networks, NASA lunar events (Supermoon events, eclipses, etc.)
Invited Speaker on NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green's 'Gravity Assist' podcast, 2019
TV shots for TV and Radio interviews for Apollo 50th Anniversary, 2019
Featured Speaker on inaugural episode of NASA Science Live, airing on NASA TV and NASA's YouTube and Facebook channels, 2019
Invited panelist, GeekGirlCon, Careers at NASA Panel, 2018
Featured speaker at NASA's Solar Eclipse Event at Homestead National Monument, NE, 2017
Field Experience
Field Lead in Hawaii, California, New Mexico
Group Lead in Icelandic Highlands
Fieldwork in remote Canada (Haughton, Mistastin Lake, and West Clearwater impact structures)
Crewmember, NASA Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS) Analog Mission, 2010
Submersible Pilot and Science Team Lead, NASA Neoteric eXploration Technologies (NXT) Analog Mission, 2019
NASA Working Diver, NASA NEEMO Project
Selected Publications
Refereed
2020. "Impact Melt Facies in the Moon's Crisium Basin: Identifying, Characterizing, and Future Radiogenic Dating." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets [10.1029/2019JE006024] [Journal Article/Letter]
2018. "The Incorporation of Field Portable Instrumentation Into Human Planetary Surface Exploration." Earth and Space Science 5 24 [10.1029/2018ea000378] [Journal Article/Letter]
2018. "Incorporation of Portable Infrared Spectral Imaging Into Planetary Geological Field Work: Analog Studies at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii, and Potrillo Volcanic Field, New Mexico." Earth and Space Science 5 21 [10.1029/2018ea000375] [Journal Article/Letter]
2018. "Visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared spectral characterization of Hawaiian fumarolic alteration near Kilauea's December 1974 flow: Implications for spectral discrimination of alteration environments on Mars." American Mineralogist 103 (1): 11-25 [10.2138/am-2018-6116] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "A review of the handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometer as a tool for field geologic investigations on Earth and in planetary surface exploration." Applied Geochemistry 72 77-87 [10.1016/j.apgeochem.2016.07.003] [Journal Article/Letter]
2015. "Pre-Mission Input Requirements to Enable Successful Sample Collection by a Remote Field/EVA Team." Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments 12 (1): [10.7771/2327-2937.1071] [Journal Article/Letter]
2013. "The effect of different operations modes on science capabilities during the 2010 Desert RATS test: Insights from the geologist crewmembers." Acta Astronautica 90 (2): 356-366 [DOI:10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.10.018] [Journal Article/Letter]
2013. "Field geologic observation and sample collection strategies for planetary surface exploration: Insights from the 2010 Desert RATS geologist crewmembers." Acta Astronautica 90 (2): 344-355 [DOI:10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.10.015] [Journal Article/Letter]
2013. "Tools and technologies needed for conducting planetary field geology while on EVA: Insights from the 2010 Desert RATS geologist crewmembers." Acta Astronautica 90 (2): 332-343 [DOI:10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.10.016] [Journal Article/Letter]
2013. "Impact thermochronology and the age of Haughton impact structure, Canada." Geophysical Research Letters 40 3836-3840 [doi:10.1002/grl.50745] [Journal Article/Letter]
2013. "Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS) 2010 science operations: Operational approaches and lessons learned for managing science during human planetary surface missions." Acta Astronautica 90 224-241 [DOI:10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.03.009] [Journal Article/Letter]
2012. "Geology of the King crater region: New insights into impact melt dynamics on the Moon." Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets 117 (E00H29): [10.1029/2011JE003990] [Journal Article/Letter]
2012. "GeoLab - A habitat-based laboratory for preliminary examination of geological samples." Acta Astronautica 90 (2): 289-300 [10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.12.008] [Journal Article/Letter]