Amber is a member of the Artemis II Lunar Science Team, Artemis Lunar Surface Science Team, and astronaut crew training cadre. With a background in geology and geospatial science, she develops training and flight-ready products that support crew readiness for lunar science operations.

For Artemis II, Amber served as the Observation Planning Lead in the Science Evaluation Room (SER) within the Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center, where she was in the critical path for developing and uplinking the crew’s lunar science plan to Orion during the mission. Her work integrated training objectives and lessons learned to position the crew for success in fulfilling their IVA lunar science tasks.

Amber also works to make crew training materials accessible to Artemis mission personnel and public audiences interested in learning more about the Moon, helping ensure that lunar science education remains inclusive and broadly engaging. Some of Amber's most recent crew training products include the Artemis II Lunar Science Passport, a printed booklet and study aid that captures the Artemis II crew’s lunar science objectives (digital copy linked below). During the mission, the crew uploaded a digital copy of the Artemis II Lunar Science Passport as part of their flight documents. She led the development of the Artemis II Lunar Geography Review, another onboard flight document used by the Artemis II crew as both a study aid and in-flight reference for lunar geography and science; this product is not yet publicly available. She also creates homework assignments and study guides for crews that support long-term retention, some of which are made publicly available (linked below). Amber is also a key contributor to NASA’s Artemis II: Observe the Moon Like an Astronaut activity (linked below).

In addition to her crew training and Observation Lead role for the Artemis II mission, Amber served as a Crew Data Analyst in the NASA JSC Science Mission Operations Room (SMOR). In this role, she was among the first to receive the crew’s recorded audio and imagery from the lunar flyby. She helped sort and analyze these data, assembling curated “data bundles” that documented and contextualized the crew’s experience.

For later Artemis surface missions, Amber is NASA SMD's representative for the Canadian Space Agency’s Lunar Utility Vehicle, a logistics rover concept intended to transport cargo and support astronauts at the lunar south pole. She participated on the Science Definition Team responsible for selecting the vehicle’s science instruments.

Prior to her Artemis mission responsibilities, Amber supported foundational work for today’s Artemis science architecture, working as a geochemist on Artemis cold curation research at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Her work helped develop requirements for vacuum-sealed sample containers aimed at preserving volatile-bearing regolith collected by astronauts during future Artemis sample return missions. Amber also served six years in the United States Army Reserve as a Civil Affairs Sergeant.

Follow the links below to access some of Amber's most recent works:

Artemis II Lunar Science Passport

Artemis II: Observe the Moon Like an Astronaut

Artemis II Common LTP Flashcards (posted on the ARES E-Resources for Artemis website)

2023

Msc. Geographic Information Systems with a focus in Remote Sensing

Ulster University, Coleraine, United Kingdom

Thesis: CO₂ fluctuations from wildfires in the Amazon Rainforest: a case study of Pará, Brazil and the 2020 fire season

2019

Bsc. Geology

University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV

Capstone Project: High-pressure mineral phases of olivine (Mg2SiO4) formed by precompression followed by laser-driven hypervelocity shock impact

2026

ADNET Excellence Award

Citation: In recognition of her exceptional support to the Artemis Program. Amber has served at different times as the Science Integration Lead, Lunar Geography Lead, and Imaging Lead for numerous simulation and training events. She also worked with the Canadian Space Agency's Lunar Utility Vehicle team to prepare it for its mission concept review. In addition, she created mission-ready map products such as the Lunar Geography Review and Lunar Science Passport which she used to train Artemis II astronauts. Through these and many other activities, Amber has shown a determination to excel and has become a significant driver of the Artemis team's success.

2025

NASA Goddard Special Thanks and Recognition (STAR) Award

Citation: For excellent support of Artemis Mission Planning document development and dataset generation.

2023

Recognition of Outstanding Contributions to Science

Citation: Selected to develop "Crew Lunar Observations" for the entire agency and Artemis program, the team promptly commenced crafting the concept of operations and assessing tools for Artemis II science imagery operations.

2022

NASA Exploration Integration and Science Directors Commendation Recognition

Citation: Developed and implemented the NASA OIIR and ISSP process to screen Earth observations of conflict in Eastern Europe captured by sensitive astronaut handheld cameras.

Recognition of Outstanding Contributions to Science

Citation: Demonstrated outstanding contributions in supporting NASA's public release of the candidate landing sites for Artemis III.

Jacobs JETS Quarterly Team Award

Citation: The Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit (ESRS) Team provided outstanding support for an urgent request from NASA's Office of International and Interagency Relations and the International Space Station Program. The team developed new procedures for reviewing and approving astronaut Earth images prior to release. They collaborated with the Imagery Online team, developed new scripts, and dedicated time to review Earth imagery that will be implemented indefinitely. In two weeks, this team developed and activated this new process, which is now in full deployment.

2021

Recognition of Outstanding Contributions to Science

Citation: Completed her second month as a Crew Earth Observations (CEO) payload operator and seamlessly transitioned into her new role with Exploration GIS work. Amber recognized the demand for assistance in these areas and willingly took on the responsibilities. Gratitude for her proactive approach and dedication!

2017

Woman of Impact Award, Focus on Women Magazine

Citation: Executed outstanding planetary geological work, laying the foundation for the establishment of the first colony on Mars.

Evans C. A., Young K. E., Borel M., Deutsch A., Dumes K., Garcia A., Graff T., Gross J., Heldmann J., Henderson M., Petro N., Richardson J., Schmidt S., Turner A., Wright E. (2026) Training the Artemis II Astronauts for Observing the Moon. 57th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Lawrence. S, Petro. N, Welch. B, Britton. A, Rubio. M, Turner. A, Danque. H, Beyer. R., George. T, Weber. R, Miller. M, Whitley. R., Moriarty D., Young K., and the Artemis Internal Science Team (2023). Artemis Internal Science Team: Mission Planning Update. 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Stoken A., Britton A., Turner A., Rubio M., Lambert M. (2023) Automated Boulder Counting: Deep Learning for Boulder Detection and Height Estimation. 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Lewis. E, Amick. C., Harris, C., Ghosh S., Turner A., Mantilla C., Allums K., Boyce J. (2023) Generating Cryogenic Lunar Simulants Within the Planetary Exploration & Astromaterials Research Laboratory. 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Mitchell J., Lewis E., Amick C., Harris C., Turner A., JL Heldmann, FM McCubbin (2022) The Effect of Temperature on the Preservation of Volatile-Rich Lunar Samples, LPI Contributions, Vol. 2678, Pages 2132.

Mitchell J, McCubbin F, Gross J, Boyce J, Harris C, Lewis E., Amick C., Turner A., Graff T., Young. K, Naids, A., Bergman H., Needham D., Lawrence S., Zeigler R., (2021) Artemis Curation: Preparing for Sample Return from the Lunar South Pole, 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Iss. 2548, Pages 1214.

Berger E. L., Burton A. S., Cintala M., Cline C. J. II, Hörz F., Lederer S., Lee C., Rampe E., Regberg A., Turner A. (2021) Experimental and Analytical Investigations of Lunar Regolith Simulants. 57th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Mittlefehldt D., Turner A., Loan L. (2020). Documenting Antarctic Alteration of Eucrites. 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Mitchell J., Gross J., Boyce J., Amick C., McCubbin F., Zeigler R., Lewis E., Turner A., Harris C. (2020). Curatorial Data Needs for Returned Volatile-Rich Extraterrestrial Samples, LPI Contributions, Vol. 2654, Pages 2020.

Vander Kaaden, K.E., McCubbin, F.M., Turner, A., Ross, D.K. (2020). Constraints on the abundances of carbon and silicon in Mercury's core from experiments in the Fe-Si-C system. Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets.

Turner, A., Tschauner, 0., Stavrou, E., Zaug, J., Armstrong, M., Greenberg, E., and Prakapenka, V. (2017), High-pressure mineral phases of olivine (Mg2SiO4) formed by precompression followed by laser-driven hypervelocity shock impact. 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

McCubbin, F.M, Barnes, J., Vander Kaaden, K.E., Srinivasan, P., Whitson, E.S., Turner, A., and Reppart, J.J. (2018) Experimental Study into the Stability of Whitlockite and Hydroxyl apatite in Basaltic Magmas. 49th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

Vander Kaaden, K.E., McCubbin, F.M, Turner A., Ross, K. (2017). Examining the Possibility of Carbon as a Light Element in the Core of Mercury. Goldschmidt 2017 Conference.