NC
Member Since 2022
Nicholas Castle
Associate Research Scientist, Planetary Science Institute
Associate Research Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. Research focus on astromaterials, particularly martian, using geochemistry, petrology, and mineralogy. MSL mission operator for the CheMin instrument.
Professional Experience
Planetary Science Institute
Associate Research Scientist
2019 - Present
Lunar and Planetary Institute
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
2017 - 2019
Education
University of Alberta
Doctorate
2017
University of Washington Seattle
Masters
2012
Lehigh University
Bachelors
2004
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Honors & Awards
Voices for Science
Received April 2022
Nicholas Castle is a geologist and space enthusiast. He is a member of the Mars Science Laboratory mission operations team where he helps coordinate activities for the CheMin instrument. His research focuses on meteorites, especially those from Mars....
Nicholas Castle is a geologist and space enthusiast. He is a member of the Mars Science Laboratory mission operations team where he helps coordinate activities for the CheMin instrument. His research focuses on meteorites, especially those from Mars. A life-long instrumentation junkie, he has expertise with electron and optical microscopes, mass spectrometers, x-ray diffractometers, high-temperature furnaces, and the occasional laser. He graduated from Lehigh, Washington, and Alberta, and presently works for the Planetary Science Institute. He resides in the Arizona desert with his wife and infant daughter when they’re not driving to explore the geology in the national parks.
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Publications

Mineralogical Investigation of Mg‐Sulfate at the Canaima Dri...
October 30, 2023

Mars Science Laboratory CheMin Data From the Glen Torridon R...
November 03, 2022

Mineralogy of Vera Rubin Ridge From the Mars Science Laborat...
September 24, 2020

Hydrothermal Precipitation of Sanidine (Adularia) Having Ful...
September 10, 2020
AGU Abstracts
Carbonate Mineral Detections in Gale Crater with the CheMin Instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover
CARBONATES ON MARS: RECORDS OF THE ANCIENT HYDROSPHERE AND ATMOSPHERE POSTER
planetary sciences | 09 december 2024
Elizabeth B. Rampe, Thomas Bristow, Benjamin M. Tu...
The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover landed in Gale crater in August 2012 to characterize ancient and modern environments on Mars and to evalua...
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Sulfate Mineral Suites at Gale Crater, Mars, by X-ray Diffraction
MARTIAN SULFATES STUDIED USING ORBITAL, GROUND, LABORATORY, AND EARTH DATA I ORAL
planetary sciences | 15 december 2023
David T. Vaniman, Steve Chipera, Elizabeth B. Ramp...
A prime reason for sending Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) to Gale crater was orbital evidence of a transition from sulfate-poor sediments of a wet envi...
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Predicting Multi-component Mineral Compositions from Crystallographic Parameters Using Machine Learning for Spacecraft X-ray Diffraction Instruments
CONCEPTS FOR FUTURE PLANETARY SCIENCE MISSIONS AND INSTRUMENTS II POSTER
planetary sciences | 12 december 2023
Ahmed M Eleish, Shaunna M. Morrison, Feifei Pan, A...
A major challenge to applying predictive machine learning models to geophysical data is the need to identify multiple labels per observation and the d...
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Check out all of Nicholas Castle’s AGU Research!
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