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Planetary Geology, Geophysics & Geochemistry Lab

Heather B. Franz

(Research AST, Planetary Studies)

Heather B. Franz's Contact Card & Information.
Email: heather.b.franz@nasa.gov
Phone: 301.614.5161
Org Code: 698
Address:
NASA/GSFC
 Mail Code 698
 Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer:
NASA

Brief Bio

Dr. Franz is an Isotope Geochemist in the Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She earned a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Maryland, with research focused on the isotopic composition of sulfur-bearing minerals in Martian meteorites and what they reveal about the past sulfur cycle on Mars. She is a Participating Scientist with the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission and a member of the science and operations teams for the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, a miniaturized geochemical laboratory onboard MSL's "Curiosity" rover.


Dr. Franz analyzes volatile compounds in the Martian atmosphere and bound in surface materials, utilizing data acquired with SAM's mass spectrometer and tunable laser spectrometer to help us understand Mars' geological and environmental history. This work involves identifying molecular species and calculating isotope ratios of key elements relevant to geological and biological processes, including S, C, H, O, N, Ar, Cl, Kr, and Xe. These isotopic signatures inform models of atmospheric escape, the potential for habitability, and preservation of biomarkers. Dr. Franz also conducts photochemical experiments to investigate Martian atmospheric processes and interactions between the atmosphere and surface minerals. Besides helping to understand Mars' geological history, her research characterizes the current surface environment and provides crucial support for planning future human exploration of Mars.


Dr. Franz joined the SAM team after working for 14 years as a flight dynamics analyst at NASA GSFC. She has performed mission design and navigation for numerous NASA missions, most notably designing the unique trajectory for the Interplanetary Physics Laboratory (Wind) spacecraft and guiding it through 38 lunar gravity assist flybys. Other missions on which Dr. Franz has worked include the Polar Plasma Laboratory (Polar), Interplanetary Monitoring Platform-8 (IMP-8), Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR, formerly known as Triana), Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), Magnetic Multiscale Mission (MMS), and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). She also planned and calibrated propulsive maneuvers to deorbit the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) spacecraft, culminating in its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.


Prior to joining the flight dynamics facility, Dr. Franz was a member of the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) Flight Operations Team.

Education

Ph.D., Geology - University of Maryland

M.S., Applied Physics - Johns Hopkins University
B.S., Aerospace Engineering - University of Maryland
B.A., Dance - University of Maryland

Awards

  • NASA Early Career Achievement Medal, 2018
  • NASA Group Achievement Award for MSL Rover Surface Operations, First Extended Mission, 2017
  • NASA Group Achievement Award to the MSL Prime Mission Science and Operations Team, 2015
  • NASA Group Achievement Award to the MSL SAM Instrument Development and Science team, 2013
  • NASA Group Achievement Award to the Sample Analysis at Mars Team, 2011
  • NASA Silver Snoopy Award, 2005
  • NASA Contractor Excellence Award, 2000
  • CSC Civil Group Technical Excellence Award, 2000
  • NASA Space Flight Awareness Award, 2000
  • NASA Group Achievement Award for CGRO Spacecraft Reentry Team, 2000
  • NASA Group Achievement Award for ACE Launch Support, 1998
  • NASA Group Achievement Award for Wind Launch Support, 1995

Selected Publications

Refereed

2025. "Carbonate formation and fluctuating habitability on Mars." Nature 643 (8070): 60-66 [10.1038/s41586-025-09161-1] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Long-chain alkanes preserved in a martian mudstone." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 122 (13): e2420580122 [Full Text] [10.1073/pnas.2420580122] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Carbonates identified by the Curiosity rover indicate a carbon cycle operated on ancient Mars." Science 388 292-297 [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Environmental Changes Recorded in Sedimentary Rocks in the Clay-Sulfate Transition Region in Gale Crater, Mars: Results from the Sample Analysis at Mars-Evolved Gas Analysis Instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 129 e2024JE008587 [Full Text] [10.1029/2024JE008587] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Highly enriched carbon and oxygen isotopes in carbonate-derived CO2 at Gale crater, Mars." PNAS 121 (42): e2321342121 [Full Text] [10.1073/pnas.2321342121] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Constraining Alteration Processes Along the Siccar Point Group Unconformity, Gale Crater, Mars: Results from the Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument." Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets 127 (11): e2022JE007387 [10.1029/2022JE007387] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Organic carbon concentrations in 3.5-billion-year-old lacustrine mudstones of Mars." Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 119 (27): e2201139119 [Full Text] [10.1073/pnas.2201139119] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Evolved gas analyses of sedimentary rocks from the Glen Torridon Clay-Bearing Unit, Gale crater, Mars: Results from the Mars Science Laboratory Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument Suite." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 127 (9): e2022JE007179 [10.1029/2022JE007179] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Oxidized and reduced sulfur observed by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on the Curiosity rover within the Glen Torridon region at Gale crater, Mars." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 127 (9): e2021JE007084 [Full Text] [10.1029/2021JE007084] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Depleted carbon isotope compositions observed at Gale crater, Mars." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119 (4): e2115651119 [Full Text] [10.1073/pnas.2115651119] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "Pyrolysis of Oxalate, Acetate, and Perchlorate Mixtures and the Implications for Organic Salts on Mars." Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets 126 (4): e2020JE006803 [Full Text] [10.1029/2020JE006803] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "The value of CHONS isotopic measurements of major compounds as probes of planetary origin, evolution, and habitability." Vol. 53, Issue 4 (Planetary/Astrobiology Decadal Survey Whitepapers) 53 (4): [10.3847/25c2cfeb.6c7da905] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Constraints on the Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Vera Rubin ridge, Gale Crater, Mars, from Mars Science Laboratory Sample Analysis at Mars Evolved Gas Analyses." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets [Full Text] [10.1029/2019JE006309] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "First detections of dichlorobenzene isomers and trichloromethylpropane from organic matter indigenous to Mars mudstone in Gale Crater, Mars: Results from the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument onboard the Curiosity Rover." Astrobiology 20 (2): 292–306 [Full Text] [10.1089/ast.2018.1908] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Indigenous and exogenous organics and surface-atmosphere cycling inferred from carbon and oxygen isotopes at Gale crater." Nature Astronomy 4 526-532 [Full Text] [10.1038/s41550-019-0990-x] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Surface temperature trends recorded in thiophene from two impact craters: Chicxulub (Earth) and Gale (Mars)." Advances in Astronomy [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Composition as Measured in Gale Crater, Mars." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 124 (11): 3000-3024 [10.1029/2019je006175] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "A new type of isotopic anomaly in shergottite sulfides." Meteoritics & Planetary Science 54 (12): 3036-3051 [10.1111/maps.13404] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "Abiotic input of fixed nitrogen by bolide impacts to Gale crater during the Hesperian. Insights from the Mars Science Laboratory." Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets 124 (1): 94-113 [Full Text] [10.1029/2018JE005852] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "Major Volatiles Evolved From Eolian Materials in Gale Crater." Geophysical Research Letters [Full Text] [10.1029/2018gl079059] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "Organic matter preserved in 3-billion-year-old mudstones at Gale crater, Mars." Science 360 (6393): 1096-1101 [Full Text] [10.1126/science.aas9185] [Journal Article/Letter]

2017. "Large sulfur isotope fractionations in Martian sediments at Gale crater." Nature Geoscience 10 658–662 [Full Text] [10.1038/ngeo3002] [Journal Article/Letter]

2017. "Evolved Gas Analyses of Sedimentary Rocks and Eolian Sediment in Gale Crater, Mars: Results of the Curiosity Rover's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument from Yellowknife Bay to the Namib Dune." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 122 (12): 2574-2609 [Full Text] [10.1002/2016je005225] [Journal Article/Letter]

2017. "Initial SAM Calibration Gas Experiments on Mars: Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer Results and Implications." Planetary and Space Science 138 44-54 [Full Text] [10.1016/j.pss.2017.01.014] [Journal Article/Letter]

2016. "In situ measurement of atmospheric krypton and xenon on Mars with Mars Science Laboratory." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 454 1-9 [10.1016/j.epsl.2016.08.028] [Journal Article/Letter]

2016. "Light and variable 37Cl/35Cl ratios in rocks from Gale Crater, Mars: Possible signature of perchlorate." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 438 14-24 [10.1016/j.epsl.2015.12.013] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "Organic molecules in the Sheepbed Mudstone, Gale Crater, Mars." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 120 (3): 495-514 [Full Text] [10.1002/2014JE004737] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "The imprint of atmospheric evolution in the D/H of Hesperian clay minerals on Mars." Science 347 (6220): 412-414 [Full Text] [10.1126/science.1260291] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "Evidence for indigenous nitrogen in sedimentary and aeolian deposits from the Curiosity rover investigations at Gale crater, Mars." Proceedings of National Academy of Science 112 (14): 4245-4250 [Full Text] [10.1073/pnas.1420932112] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "Reevaluated martian atmospheric mixing ratios from the mass spectrometer on the Curiosity rover." Planetary and Space Science 109-110 154-158 [doi:10.1016/j.pss.2015.02.014] [Journal Article/Letter]

2014. "Analytical Techniques for Retrieval of Atmospheric Composition with the Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer of the Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument Suite on Mars Science Laboratory." Planet. Space Sci. [10.1016/j.pss.2014.03.005] [Journal Article/Letter]

2014. "Volatile and Organic Compositions of Sedimentary Rocks in Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars." Science 343 (6169): 1245267 [Full Text] [doi:10.1126/science.1245267] [Journal Article/Letter]

2014. "Sulfur-bearing Phases Detected by Evolved Gas Analysis of the Rocknest Aeolian Deposit, Gale Crater." J. Geophys. Res. 119 (2): 373-393 [Full Text] [10.1002/2013JE004518] [Journal Article/Letter]

2014. "Abundances and Implications of Volatile-bearing Species from Evolved Gas Analysis of the Rocknest Aeolian Deposit, Gale Crater, Mars." Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 119 (1): 237-254 [Full Text] [10.1002/2013JE004493] [Journal Article/Letter]

2014. "Isotopic Links between Atmospheric Chemistry and the Deep Sulphur Cycle on Mars." Nature 508 364–368 [10.1038/nature13175] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "A Habitable Fluvio-Lacustrine Environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars." Science 343 (6169): 1242777-1242777 [10.1126/science.1242777] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Volatile and Organic Compositions of Sedimentary Rocks in Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars." Science 343 (6169): 1245267-1245267 [10.1126/science.1245267] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Volatile, Isotope, and Organic Analysis of Martian Fines with the Mars Curiosity Rover." Science 341 (6153): 1238937-1238937 [10.1126/science.1238937] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Evidence for perchlorates and the origin of chlorinated hydrocarbons detected by SAM at the Rocknest aeolian deposit in Gale Crater." J. Geophys. Res. 118 1955 – 1973 [10.1002/jgre.20144] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Isotopes of Nitrogen on Mars: Atmospheric Measurements by Curiosity's Mass Spectrometer." Geophys. Res. Lett. 40 6033-6037 [10.1002/2013GL057840] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Abundance and Isotopic Composition of Gases in the Martian Atmosphere from the Curiosity Rover." Science 341 (6143): 263-266 [10.1126/science.1237966] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Volatile, Isotope, and Organic Analysis of Martian Fines with the Mars Curiosity Rover." Science 341 (6153): 1238937 [Full Text] [10.1126/science.1238937] [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Evidence for Perchlorates and the Origin of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons Detected by SAM at the Rocknest Aeolian Deposit in Gale Crater." J. Geophys. Res. 118 1955-1973. [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Primordial Argon Isotope Fractionation in the Atmosphere of Mars Measured by the SAM Instrument on Curiosity and Implications for Atmospheric Loss." Geophys. Res. Lett. 40 5605-5609. [Journal Article/Letter]

2013. "Mass-Independent Fractionation of Sulfur Isotopes during Broadband SO2 Photolysis: Comparison between 16O- and 18O-rich SO2." Chem. Geo. 362 56-65 [10.1016/j.chemgeo.2013.07.021] [Journal Article/Letter]

2012. "Coordinated analyses of Antarctic sediments as Mars analog materials using reflectance spectroscopy and current flight-like instruments for CheMin, SAM and MOMA." Icarus 224 (2): 309-325 [10.1016/j.icarus.2012.05.014] [Journal Article/Letter]

2001. "Wind Nominal Mission Performance and Extended Mission Design." Journal of the Astronautical Sciences 49 (1): 145-167. [Journal Article/Letter]

1999. "The Wind Program: 1998 - 2000." Interball in the ISTP Program 29-40 [Article in Book]

Contact Us

Katrice Tanner
Project Support Specialist
301-614-6467
katrice.n.tanner@nasa.gov