Phil Christensen | |
|---|---|
 photo courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech (2005) | |
| Born | 1953 (age 71–72) |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Awards | Whipple Award(2018) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Planetary geology |
| Institutions | Arizona State University |
Philip Russel Christensen (born 1953) is ageologist whose research interests focus on thecomposition, physical properties, processes, andmorphology of planetary surfaces, with an emphasis onMars and theEarth. He is currently a Regents'Professor and the Ed and Helen Korrick Professor of Geological Sciences atArizona State University (ASU).[1]
Christensen earned his B.S. degree inGeology from theUniversity of California, Los Angeles in 1976. He earned his M.S. in 1978 and his Ph.D. in 1981 inGeophysics andSpace physics, both from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Along with serving on the faculty of the Department of Geology at Arizona State University since 1981, Christensen is theprincipal investigator for theMars Global SurveyorThermal Emission Spectrometer (TES), theMars OdysseyTHEMIS, theEuropa ClipperEuropa Thermal Emission Imaging System and theLucy Thermal Emission Spectrometer instruments, as well as a co-investigator for theMars Exploration Rovers, responsible for theMini-TES instruments. He also serves on the research staff of theCenter for Meteorite Studies museum on the ASU campus and is the director of theMars Space Flight Facility. He served as co-chair of thePlanetary Science Decadal Survey in 2022, withRobin M. Canup.
His discovery (based onThermal Emission Spectrometer data) of crystallinehematite inMeridiani Planum was instrumental in that area's choice as the landing site for theMars Exploration RoverOpportunity.