Claire Kelly

Claire Kelly is a PhD student from Liverpool who works within the Planetary Science group at Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London. Prior to this, she completed her Masters in Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Leicester. Her current research area involves modelling the Martian radiation environment throughout the atmosphere and subsurface under different solar and environmental conditions. In addition to this, she will simulate the Linear Energy Transfer (LET) spectra from different primary particle populations (e.g. GCR under solar minimum and maximum and extreme solar particle events) for different Martian conditions (e.g. density layering of wind-blown dust, regolith composition, presence of subsurface ice, surface pressure, water vapor in the atmosphere). Based on this modeling she will look into biomolecule degradation to calculate biosignature preservation over Martian geological history and also use this info to inform the design of irradiation experiments. Based on these simulations she will determine what the astrobiology implications are due to the radiation environment in relation to microbes and future human or robotic exploration.