Shahid Aslam
(RESEARCH AST, PLANETARY STUDIES)
| Email: | shahid.aslam-1@nasa.gov |
| Phone: | 301.614.6961 |
| Org Code: | 693 |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 693 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: |
Brief Bio
Many years of space instrument hardware development and remote sensing experience with direct contributions to the following NASA flight programs: Pressure Modulated Infra-Red Radiometer (PMIRR) on Mars Observer; Composite Infra-Red Spectrometer (CIRS) on Cassini; Gas and Aerosol Monitoring Sensor-craft (GAMS); Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) and James Web Space Telescope (JWST). Currently is the Payload Experiment Lead for the Compact Ultraviolet to Visible Spectrometer (CUVIS) and a Co-I on the DAVINCI Mission to Venus, to be launched in late 2030 timeframe.
For h-index and complete publication list see:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6erZJw0AAAAJ&hl=en
Research Interests
Infra-Red Radiometry and Spectroscopy
Solar System: Remote SensingDevelopment of infra-red radiometers and Fourier transform spectrometers for remote sensing of planetary atmospheres.
Net Flux Energy in Planetary Atmospheres
Solar System: UranusDevelopment of advanced net flux radiometers for studying the atmospheric (thermal) structure of planetary atmospheres, in particular to, (i) determine the planet’s atmospheric heat balance and (ii) determine the planet’s tropospheric 3-D flow.
Time Resolved Raman and Photoluminescence Spectroscopy
Solar System: Planetary surfacesDevelopment of instrumentation to carry out in-situ time-resolved Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, of samples collected from planetary regoliths, to discover, if present, the types and distribution of biotic and abiotic organic compounds, measure CHNOPS containing organics and minerals and correlate them to radiolysis processed and textural features.
Non-Dispersive Infra-Red Gas Analyzer
Solar System: CometsWe are designing and building a Non Dispersive Infra-Red Gas Analyzer (NDIRGA) for the New Fontiers CAESAR project (Pre-Phase A), that uses a measurement scheme based on the Beer-Lambert Law. The NDIRGA is used to measure H2O and CO2 partial pressures between the SCS and GCS and uses two redundant 4-channel (quad) thermopile detectors with 2.7-μm and 6.6-μm H2O absorption band, 4.0-μm reference filter and 4.2 µm CO2 absorption band, each paired with redundant IR sources. Knowledge of the water vapor partial pressure will ensure that we avoid reaching the triple point of water (within the P-T range 3 Torr @ 268 K and 16 mTorr @ 218 K). The measurement uses a collimated pulsed IR light source focused onto the quad thermopile detectors with IR bandpass filters in front of them. The absorbed IR light on the thermopiles generate small thermoelectric voltages that are amplified and digitized by a multi-channel digitizer (MCD) ASIC. The 20 bit digitized signals from the MCD ASIC are communicated to the FPGA board in the MEB for further data processing.
Current Projects
Compact Ultraviolet to Visible Imaging Spectrometer (CUVIS) Technology Demonstration onboard the DAVINCI Mission to Venus, NASA Discovery Mission, Principal Engineering Lead
Remote Sensing
Design, build, test and validate a Compact Ultraviolet to Visible Spectrometer (CUVIS), an innovative dual-band dispersion and imaging spectrometer with spectral range 200–570 nm, that will complement the science obtained from DAVINCI's VISOR UV Camera. The spectrometer’s primary goal is to investigate radiative balance, cloud properties and chemistry of Venus’s atmosphere, address the vexing scientific problem of the unknown UV absorber(s) at the cloud tops; secondary goals include cloud top habitability, and to gain insight into slow rotating hot exoplanets by using Venus as a test case.
Modular Infrared Molecules and Ices Sensor (MIRMIS), ESA F-Class Comet Interceptor Mission, Science Associate
Comets
MIRMIS covers the spectral range 0.9 to ~25 μm and will map the ice, mineral, and gas composition ofthe target’s nucleus and coma and the distribution of surface temperatures on the nucleus.
Ice Particle Counter for Ocean World Plume-Flyby Missions, FY23 IRAD, Principal Investigator
Remote Sensing
Develop an enabling technology that will count water-ice particles while flying through the plume of Enceladus or Europa.
Ultra-Violet Detector Innovation for Raman Exploration and CharacTerization (UV-DIRECT) of Ocean Worlds, NASA ROSES PICASSO, Co-Investigator
Technology & Missions
Ultra-Violet Detector Innovation for Raman Exploration and CharacTerization (UV-DIRECT) of Ocean Worlds enables the identification of minerals, volatiles, organic molecules, biopolymers, water, and other hydrous phases in planetary materials with the added bonus of Raman spectroscopic imaging.
RAMS: RAman-Mass Spectrometer for planetary exploration, NASA ROSES PICASSO, Co-Investigator
Technology & Missions
Raman-Mass Spectrometer (RAMS) instrument suite incorporates laser desorption/ ionization mass spectrometry (LDMS) and micro Raman microspectroscopy imaging (μRS) into a compact instrument package with shared resources realizing size, weight and power (SWaP) savings over two separate instruments, while simultaneously enabling comprehensive sample analysis capabilities transcending those of either technique alone.
Design, Fabrication and Testing of Metal-Mesh Linear Variable Filters for Planetary Remote Sensing Instrumentation, FY22 IRAD, Co-Investigator
Remote Sensing
Demonstrate metal mesh based LVFs for the 12.5 mm to 25 mm band to improve measurements of surface temperature, emissivity, multi-spectral image maps, porosity, and material composition identification for remote sensing planetary missions.
Time Resolved Spatial Heterodyne Raman Spectrometer, FY22 IRAD, Co-Invetigator
Remote Sensing
Demonstrate a novel high resolution, high throughput, time resolve Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer (SHS) for planetary science applications.
Portable flow inferencing device using Fourier Ptychography and Deep Learning for detection of biosignatures, CIF Award, NASA HQ, Principal Investigator
Remote Sensing
Advanced Net Flux Radiometer Focal Plane Assembly for Ice Giants, NASA ROSES PICASSO, Principal Investigator
Uranus
Quantum efficiency and noise performance of back-side illuminated CMOS detector arrays for future planetary ultra-violet to visible hyperspectral imagers, FY23 IRAD, PI
Technology & Missions
Measure quantum efficiency and noise performance characterization, from deep ultra-violet (UV) to visible (Vis) to near infra-red (NIR), of a Teledyne e2v back-illuminated CIS115 CMOS image sensor.
Positions/Employment
Instrument Scientist, Non Dispersive Infra-Red Gas Analyzer (NDIRGA), CAESAR
NASA/GSFC - Greenbelt, MD, 20771
January 2018 - October 2019
Instrument Scientist - CIRS/CASSINI
NASA/Goddard - Greenbelt, MD, 20771
June 2013 - December 2018
Principal Investigator of ROSES ICEE "Thermal Imager for Europa Reconnaissance (TIMER)"
NASA/GSFC - Greenbelt, MD, 20771
September 2013 - September 2014
Co-Investigator (NASA PI), MiniFTS for SmallSat Applications
NASA/Goddard - Greenbelt, MD, 20771
September 2013 - January 2015
Research Space Scientist
NASA/Goddard - Greenbelt, MD, 20771
January 2010 - Present
Principal Scientist
Raytheon Corporation - NASA, GSFC Detector Systems Branch Greenbelt, MD, 20771
July 1996 - April 2010
Principal Investigator, CIF Award, NASA HQ, Portable flow inferencing device using Fourier Ptychography and Deep Learning for detection of biosignatures
NASA/GSFC - Greenbelt, MD, 20771
2019 - September 2020
Science Associate, MIRMIS, ESA F-Class Comet Interceptor Mission
NASA/GSFC - Greenbelt, MD, 20771
July 2019 - Present
Principal Investigator, NASA ROSES PICASSO, "Advanced Net Flux Radiometer Focal Plane Assembly for Ice Giants"
NASA/GSFC - Greenbelt, MD 20771.
July 2018 - September 2021
Co-Investigator, NASA ROSES PICASSO, "Development of a Prototype for the Thermal Infrared Composite Imaging Spectrometer (TIRCIS) Instrument"
NASA/GSFC - Greenbelt, MD 20771
July 2017 - September 2020
Education
D.Phil., Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Professional Societies
American Astronomical Society (AAS)
Member
2010 - Present
Division of Planetary Science (DPS - AAS)
Member
2010 - Present
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Senior Member
2014 - Present
Philosophical Society of Washington DC
Member
2018 - Present
Professional Service
Member of the Goddard Scientific Colloquium Committee, 2021-2024
Member of NfoLD, 2020-Present
Awards
1993 NASA Group Achievement Award - Mars Observer/PMIRR
1998 NASA Group Achievement Award - Cassini/CIRS
2003 NASA Contractor Excellence Award
2005 NASA Public Service Award Medal
2011 NASA Group Achievement Award - JWST Micro-Shutter System Team
2016 NASA Special Act Award
2018 NASA Group Achievement Award - CIRS Spectrometer Team
2018 NASA Group Achievement Award - CIRS Investigation Team
2020 NASA Exceptional Service Award Medal
2022 NASA Patent Plaque Award
2023 NASA Group Achievement Award - CAESAR NDIRGA Team
2023 NASA Patent Plaque Award
2025 GSFC Innovator of the Year Award, Runner-up - EPPIC
15 USA Patents
Publications
Refereed
2025. "Development and validation of novel SiC UV instrumentation for astronomy and planetary applications.", UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XXIV, 23 [10.1117/12.3063375] [Proceedings]
2025. "Fourier Ptychographic Microscope Systems and Methods.", US Patent and Tradesmark Office, Washington DC, 12,352,946 B1 (July 8th, 2025): [Other]
2024. "Carbon nano-tube polymer composite mirrors for CubeSat telescope.", US Patent and Tradesmark Office, Washington DC: 11,971,300 B1, issued April 30th, 2024, [Other]
2024. "Modelling for Comet Interceptor's Modular InfraRed Molecules and Ices Sensor.", LPI Contributions, 3040 1386 [Proceedings]
2024. "PReSSiC: Planetary Remote Sensing using SiC detectors.", 243rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, id. 329.05. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 56 (No. 2 e-id): [Proceedings]
2024. "The Comet Interceptor Mission.", Space Science Reviews, 220 (1): 9 [10.1007/s11214-023-01035-0] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Improved Design of an Advanced Ice Giants Net Flux Radiometer.", Space Science Reviews, 220 (1): 5 [10.1007/s11214-023-01038-x] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "The Modular Infrared Molecules And Ices Sensor (MIRMIS): An Instrument Visiting A Long-Period Comet.", Abstract from 21st Annual Meeting AOGS 2024, Pyeongchang, Korea, Republic of, 1 [Proceedings]
2023. "Deep Learning-Based Polarization Capable Fourier Ptychographic Microscopy (DL-PFPM).", Optica Imaging Congress (3D, COSI, DH, FLatOptics, IS, pcAOP), [10.1364/3d.2023.jw2a.8] [Proceedings]
2023. "System, Apparatus and Methods for Detecting Methane Leak.", US Patent 11,774,355 B1, Washington DC: US Patent and Trademark Office, issued Oct. 3rd 2023, [Other]
2023. "Cassini composite infrared spectrometer: correcting an offset error and refining the pointing parameters for the midinfrared detectors: publisher’s note.", Applied Optics, 62 (23): 6298 [10.1364/ao.502236] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "Cassini Composite InfraRed Spectrometer: correcting an offset error and refining the pointing parameters for the mid-infrared detectors.", Applied Optics, 62 (22): 5882-5888 [10.1364/ao.491970] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "Single-Event Effects on Commercial-Off-the Shelf Edge-Processing Artificial Intelligence ASICs.", IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 1-1 [10.1109/tns.2023.3286728] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "Design and optimization of NUV-enhanced 4H-SiC separate-absorption-charge-multiplication avalanche photodiodes.", Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XXXI, 12415 [10.1117/12.2649236] [Proceedings]
2022. "Pivoting Successive Approximation Register ADC for a Radiation Hard Autonomous Digital Readout.", US Patent 11,522,552. Washington DC: US Patent and Trademark Office, issued Dec. 6th 2022 [Other]
2022. "Cross-slot metal-mesh bandpass filters for far-infrared astronomy.", Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy XI, 121901M [10.1117/12.2630571] [Proceedings]
2022. "Compact Non-Dispersive Infrared Gas Analyzer.", U.S. Patent 11,391,672. Washington DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, July 19th 2022 [Other]
2022. "Design of an Advanced, Compact Ice Giants Net Flux Radiometer.", In Situ Exploration of the Giant Planets II, Laurel, MD, USA, LPI Contributions, (2686): id. 4001 [Proceedings]
2022. "The CORGIE Instrument Suite: Understanding Hydrogeologic Cycles on Planetary Bodies Through In Situ Characterization of Surface-Atmosphere Interactions.", Optimizing Planetary In Situ Surface-Atmosphere Interaction Investigations Workshop, Boise, Idaho, LPI Contribution No., 2685 id. 7008 [Proceedings]
2022. "Planetary exploration enabled by a compact adaptable time-resolved spatial-heterodyne Raman spectrometer.", Proc. SPIE 12121, Sensors and Systems for Space Applications XV, [10.1117/12.2618777] [Proceedings]
2022. "A parallel readout circuit for a space-based non-dispersive infrared gas analyzer.", Proc. SPIE 12121, Sensors and Systems for Space Applications XV, [10.1117/12.2619116] [Proceedings]
2022. "Revealing the Mysteries of Venus: The DAVINCI Mission.", The Planetary Science Journal, 3 (5): 117 [10.3847/psj/ac63c2] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Thermopile bias method for low voltage infrared readout integrated circuits.", U.S. Patent 11,293,809. Washington DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, issued April 5, 2022 [Other]
2022. "50 Years of Spaceflight with Fourier Transform Spectrometers (FTS) designed at NASA GSFC.", 2022 IEEE Aerospace Conference (AERO), [10.1109/aero53065.2022.9843804] [Proceedings]
2022. "Gas Analyzer for Monitoring H2O and CO2 Partial Pressures in Space Instrumentation.", IEEE Sensors Journal, 22 (1): 12576-12587 [10.1109/JSEN.2022.3177079] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Raman and UVN+LWIR LIBS detection system for in-situ surface chemical identification.", MethodsX, 9 101647 [10.1016/j.mex.2022.101647] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Measuring large amplitude surface figure error using coordinate metrology.", Optical Engineering, 60 (08): [10.1117/1.oe.60.8.084103] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Spectroscopic Characterization of Samples from Different Environments in a Volcano-Glacial Region in Iceland: Implications for in situ Planetary Exploration.", Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 263 (15): 120205 [Full Text] [10.1016/j.saa.2021.120205] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "In situ Chemistry Experiment - µscope, Photoluminescence and Raman Observations on Icy Satellites (ICE-µPROBIS).", EPSC Abstracts, 15 (EPSC2021-432): [10.5194/epsc2021-432] [Proceedings]
2021. "Ice-Giants Net Flux Radiometer for Heat Flux Measurements.", EPSC Abstracts, 15 (EPSC2021-144): [10.5194/epsc2021-144] [Proceedings]
2021. "Ice Giants Net Flux Radiometer (IG-NFR) Electrical Architecture.", EPSC Abstracts, 15 (EPSC2021-449): [10.5194/epsc2021-449] [Proceedings]
2021. "Enabling in situ Raman Spectroscopic Exploration of Icy Worlds: Ultra-Violet Detector Innovation for Raman Exploration and CharacTerization (UV-DIRECT) of Ocean Worlds.", EPSC2021, [10.5194/epsc2021-330] [Proceedings]
2021. "TID and Heavy Ion Performance of a RHBD Multi-Channel Digitizer in 180 nm CMOS.", IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, 68 (7): 1414-1422 [10.1109/tns.2021.3080179] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Parallel Computation of CRC-Code on an FPGA Platform for High Data Throughput.", Electronics, 10 (7): 866 [10.3390/electronics10070866] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Comparative VIS and NIR Raman and FTIR Spectroscopy of Lunar Analog Samples.", Europlanet Science Congress 2020, online, [10.5194/epsc2020-427] [Proceedings]
2020. "Modelling the expected observations of the Advanced Ice Giants Net Flux Radiometer (IG-NFR) instrument concept, under study for future entry probe missions to Uranus or Neptune.", EPSC Abstracts, EPSC2020-306 [10.5194/epsc2020-306] [Proceedings]
2020. "Modelling the in situ solar and thermal radiation environment for future entry probe missions to Venus.", EPSC-2020, EPSC2020-312 [10.5194/epsc2020-312] [Proceedings]
2020. "Correlated Raman and Reflectance Spectroscopy for In Situ Lunar Resource Exploration.", Lunar Surface Science Workshop (LPI Contrib No. 2241), id. 5113 [Proceedings]
2020. "Compact Lunar Mineralogy Imager (CLuMI).", Lunar Surface Science Workshop 2020 (LPI Contrib. No. 2241), [Proceedings]
2020. "The CORGIE (Confirming Orbital Remote-Sensing with Ground Information Experiments) Consortium.", Lunar Surface Science Workshop 2020 (LPI Contrib. no 2241), [Proceedings]
2020. "Radiation-hard parallel readout circuit for low-frequency voltage signal measurements.", Sensors and Systems for Space Applications XIII, 11422 (1142205): [10.1117/12.2558117] [Proceedings]
2020. "Portable flow device using Fourier ptychography microscopy and deep learning for detection in biosignatures.", Real-Time Image Processing and Deep Learning 2020, 11401 1-6 [Full Text] [10.1117/12.2557316] [Proceedings]
2020. "Advanced Net Flux Radiometer for the Ice Giants.", Space Science Reviews, 216 (1): 11 [10.1007/s11214-019-0630-x] [Journal Article/Letter]
Non-Refereed
2021. "Ice Giant Atmospheric Science.", BAAS, 53 (4): e-id. 264 [10.3847/25c2cfeb.97316a54] [Journal Article/Letter]