Christina Singh

Graduate Research Assistant | Planetary Science PhD Student

Research Projects

Below are some of my ongoing and completed research projects:

• Boulder Distributions on Martian Ice Sheets (Sep 2023-present)

  University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory | Mentor: Dr. Shane Byrne

  Quantified the distribution of boulders on midlatitude Martian ice sheets, using imagery from the High Resolution Imaging Science experiment (HiRISE).

  

  HiRISE image subset showing boulders detected by our machine-vision rock detector, the ROck Shadow COunter (ROSCO), on Martian ice sheets. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

• Characterizing Hazards at Candidate Mars Sample Return (MSR) Landing Sites (Jun 2023-Aug 2023)

  NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Mentors: Dr. Matthew Golombek & Dr. Nathan Williams

  Mapped rocks and produced Cumulative Fractional Area (CFA) curves to assess the rockiness of various MSR landing sites (emphasis on the Abercastell (Belva Crater) landing site).

  

  Potential MSR landing sites. Abercastell (Belva Crater) landing ellipse shown in green.

  

  Rock mapping from the Perseverance rover's Navcam at the Abercastell (Belva Crater) landing site.

  

  Cumulative Fractional Area (CFA) curves versus rock diameter from the Perseverance rover's Navcam. Inner and outer rocks are shown with fitted k-values indicating rock abundance.

  

  Rock mapping from the Ingenuity helicopter's camera at the Abercastell (Belva Crater) landing site.

  

  Cumulative Fractional Area (CFA) curves versus rock diameter from the Ingenuity helicopter's RTE 07 image. Inner and outer rocks are shown with fitted k-values indicating rock abundance.

  

  Perseverance rover Mastcam-Z oblique image showing potential hazardous rocks (marked in red) at the Abercastell landing site. Yellow letters (A-G) indicate specific rocks verified as hazards. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

• Characterizing the Stratigraphy of a Potential Distal Remnant of the Hypanis Delta, Mars (May 2022-Jul 2022)

  Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences | Mentors: Dr. Frances Rivera-Hernández & Dr. Jacob Adler | Group: PLANETAS

  Located stratigraphic layers on a potential delta deposit and worked to link stratigraphic relations back to the main delta lobe to determine the extent of the delta.

  

  The Hypanis delta system with the potential distal deposit shown in yellow.

  

  Stratigraphic analysis of the distal deposit near the Hypanis Delta on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

  

  Best fit planes (cyan surfaces) for each of the 16 stratigraphic layers (L1-L16) identified in the distal deposit. Blue points represent individual measurements along each layer.

Contact

Email: christina@arizona.edu

GitHub: github.com/christinaysingh