Caltech graduate students on the MSL mission drive science, the rover, and their careers
News Writer:
Shayna Chabner McKinney
Caltech graduate students Lauren Edgar (left) and Katie Stack (right) are members of the Mars Science Laboratory science team.
Credit: Kris Capraro/JPL
Caltech geology graduate student Katie Stack says her Caltech experience has provided her with the best of both worlds. Literally.
As one of five Caltech graduate students currently staffing the Mars Science Laboratory mission, Stack is simultaneously exploring the geologic pasts of both Mars and Earth. She and her student colleagues apply their knowledge of Earth's history and environment—gleaned from Caltech classes and field sites across the globe—to the analysis of Curiosity's discoveries as well as the hunt for evidence of past life on the Red Planet.