Dr. Daniel Moriarty's research interests focus on addressing high-priority lunar and planetary science questions using integrated remote sensing analyses in the context of laboratory experiments, lunar sample analyses, and numerical simulations. This approach is well-suited for supporting NASA’s exploration goals,and has facilitated participation on several teams planning the Artemis crewed mission to Moon, as well as several other planetary missions and concept studies. This approach is a powerful tool for building synergy and cohesion between independent data, enabling unique insight into critical science and exploration goals.
Dr. Moriarty's research draws primarily on mineralogical analyses of hyperspectral data obtained from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an instrument that flew onboard the Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon during 2008-2009. M3 offers the highest combined spatial and spectral resolution coverage of the lunar surface,and is therefore the best tool currently available to understand compositional variations (including hydration) across the Moon. As a member of the M3 science team (2010-2012), Dr. Moriarty was involved in the calibration and distribution of instrument data. In subsequent years, Dr. Moriarty has continued to work with this data, developing and validating a suite of spectral parameters relevant to mineralogy, optical maturity, and volatile abundance. Furthermore, Dr. Moriarty recently have been working specifically on techniques to improve the usefulness of M3 data in the face of challenging illumination conditions at high latitudes relevant to Artemis and the upcoming VIPER robotic mission to the lunar south pole. M3 analyses are strengthened through integration with other remote sensing data, which Dr. Moriarty processes, georeferences, and integrates in IDL, ENVI, ISIS2, and ArcMap. Dr. Moriarty also has experience conducting laboratory measurements of lunar samples and simulants, including temperature-programmed water desorption in ultra-high vacuum simulating lunar environmental conditions.
Dr. Moriarty has published research on a broad variety of lunar and planetary science topics in a number of journals including Nature Communications, Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of Geophysical Research, Meteoritics and Planetary Science, and the Planetary Science Journal. Recently, Dr. Moriarty has focused on understanding the formation and evolution of the lunar crust and mantle by probing deep stratigraphic relationships revealed by the South Pole – Aitken Basin, the Moon’s largest and oldest impact basin. Dr. Moriarty's work has integrated three-dimensional impact models with compositional remote sensing data and geochemical/dynamical models of lunar differentiation to identify and characterize ancient mantle materials excavated by this basin. These results have important implications for lunar evolution,and establish the distribution of high-priority sites for future landed lunar missions. Additionally, Dr. Moriarty has recently published research on the Moon’s volcanic diversity, the fundamentals of deriving compositional information from spectroscopy of pyroxene-bearing lithologies, and landing site analyses supporting Artemis and other robotic missions.
Dr. Moriarty is currently participating on several teams directly supporting the Artemis crewed mission to the lunar south pole. He currently serves as the System Manager for Surface Environments in the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program Office, Systems Engineering and Integration Branch. Dr. Moriarty is a critical member of Artemis support teams including: Lunar Site Planning and Design (providing maps and integrated remote sensing analyses of candidate landing site layouts), the Science Objectives Technical Assessment Team (providing scientific insight to develop science goals), Artemis Extravehicular Activity Geographic Information System Team, and Data Team (to identify and catalog available data products for candidate landing sites). Several of these teams fall under the Cross-Artemis Site Selection and Analysis Team, formed by NASA to ensure that proper technical analyses are performed to facilitate site selection and planning. Dr. Moriarty's specific contributions include integrating diverse remote sensing data and derived products in ArcMap GIS software to provide an overview of terrain traversability, landing site safety, hazard avoidance, environmental conditions (illumination and thermal environment), and science targets. Dr. Moriarty also provides insight into science goals relevant to mineralogy and composition of the landing region through my analyses of Moon Mineralogy Mapper hyperspectral data (integrated with a full suite of compositional remote sensing products).