Ryan Anderson is a planetary scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center and science team member on the Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rover missions.
Ryan attended the University of Michigan, where he double majored in Physics and Astronomy, and Cornell University where received his PhD in Planetary Science. He conducted a detailed study of Gale crater, the landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory Rover (MSL), and is a member of the ChemCam instrument science team. Ryan is also a member of the science team on the SuperCam instrument on the Perseverance rover. His work with ChemCam and SuperCam focuses on improving the accuracy of the chemistry measurements made by the instruments. In addition to his research and mission operations, Ryan is passionate about communicating science to the public, and serves as Communication Lead for the Astrogeology Science Center. He enjoys teaching and public speaking and for several years ran a planetary science-themed blog called The Martian Chronicles, which was one of the founding blogs of the American Geophysical Union blogosphere. That blog evolved into a group blog hosted by NASA JPL that shares updates on what the Curiosity rover is currently doing.
Professional Experience
February 2021 - Present: Perseverance Mars rover operations
September 2014 - Present: Physical Scientist, USGS Astrogeology Science Center
July 2014 - Present: SuperCam science team member (Perseverance Mars rover)
August 2012 - Present: Curiosity Mars rover operations
January 2012 - Present: ChemCam science team member (Curiosity Mars rover)
January 2012 - September 2014: Shoemaker Postdoctoral Fellow, USGS Astrogeology Science Center
2007 - 2014: Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission operations (Pancam Payload Downlink Lead)
Education and Certifications
PhD, Astronomy (Geology minor), Cornell University, 2012
B.S., Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Michigan, 2006
B.S., Physics, University of Michigan, 2006
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 28
Regolith of the crater floor units, Jezero crater, Mars: Textures, composition and implications for provenance
A multi-instrument study of the regolith of Jezero crater floor units by the Perseverance rover has identified three types of regolith: fine-grained, coarse-grained, and mixed-type. Mastcam-Z, WATSON, and SuperCam RMI were used to characterize regolith texture, particle size, and roundedness where possible. Mastcam-Z multispectral and SuperCam LIBS data were used to constrain the composition of th
Authors
Alicia Vaughan, Michelle E. Minitti, Emily L. Cardarelli, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Linda C. Kah, Paolo Pilleri, Mellisa S. Rice, Mark Sephton, Briony H. N. Horgan, Roger C. Wiens, R. Aileen Yingst, Maria-Paz Zorzano Mier, Ryan Anderson, James F. III Bell, Adrian J. Brown, Edward A. Cloutis, Agnes Cousin, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Elisabeth M. Housrath, Alexander G. Hayes, Kjartan M. Kinch, Marco Merusi, Chase C. Million, Robert Sullivan, Sandra M. Siljestrom, Michael St. Clair
Spatial and temporal distribution of sinuous ridges in southeastern Terra Sabaea and the northern region of Hellas Planitia, Mars
Sinuous ridges are an important yet understudied component of Mars' hydrologic history. We have produced a map of sinuous ridges, valleys and channels, and tectonic ridges across southeastern Terra Sabaea and into northern Hellas Planitia (10°-45° S, 35°-80° E) using a CTX mosaic. Although we mapped different types of ridges and negative relief features, the focus of this paper are the sinuous rid
Authors
Amber Gullikson, Ryan Anderson, Rebecca M.E. Williams
Morphology and paleohydrology of intracrater alluvial fans north of Hellas Basin, Mars
Alluvial fans and sinuous ridges are both important records of the history of fluvial activity on Mars, and they often occur together. We present observations of alluvial fans, many of which exhibit inverted relief, in five craters in the region north of Hellas basin. The observed fans ranged in size from ~10 to 820 km2. We identified three primary fan surface morphology classes (chute, degraded,
Authors
Ryan Anderson, Rebecca Williams, Amber Gullikson, William Nelson
Overview of the morphology and chemistry of diagenetic features in the clay-rich Glen Torridon Unit of Gale Crater, Mars
The clay-rich Glen Torridon region of Gale crater, Mars, was explored between sols 2300 and 3007. Here, we analyzed the diagenetic features observed by Curiosity, including veins, cements, nodules, and nodular bedrock, using the ChemCam, Mastcam, and Mars Hand Lens Imager instruments. We discovered many diagenetic features in Glen Torridon, including dark-toned iron- and manganese-rich veins, magn
Authors
Patrick J. Gasda, Jade Comellas, A Essunfeld, D. Das, Alex B Bryk, Erwin Dehouck, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Laura Crossey, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Jeffrey B. Johnson, Horton E. Newsom, Nina L. Lanza, William Rapin, Walter Goetz, Pierre-Yves Meslin, John C. Bridges, Ryan Anderson, Gaël David, S M R Turner, M T Thorpe, Linda C. Kah, Jens Frydenvang, Rachel Kronyak, G. Caravaca, Ann M. Ollila, Stephane Le Mouelic, M Nellessen, Megan Hoffman, Deirdra M. Fey, Agnes Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, Sam M. Clegg, Sylvestre Maurice, Olivier Gasnault, Dorothy Delapp, A. Reyes-Newell
Post-landing major element quantification using SuperCam laser induced breakdown spectroscopy
The SuperCam instrument on the Perseverance Mars 2020 rover uses a pulsed 1064 nm laser to ablate targets at a distance and conduct laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) by analyzing the light from the resulting plasma. SuperCam LIBS spectra are preprocessed to remove ambient light, noise, and the continuum signal present in LIBS observations. Prior to quantification, spectra are masked to r
Authors
Ryan Anderson, Olivier Forni, Agnes Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, Jens Frydenvang, Travis S.J. Gabriel, Ann M. Ollila, Susanne Schröder, Olivier Beyssac, Erin Gibbons, David Vogt, Elise Clave, Jose-Antonio Manrique, Carey Legett, Paolo Pilleri, Raymond Newell, Joseph Sarrao, Sylvestre Maurice, Gorka Arana, Karim Benzerara, Pernelle Bernardi, Sylvain Bernard, Bruno Bousquet, Adrian J. Brown, Cesar Alvarez-Llamas, Baptiste Chide, Edward A. Cloutis, Jade Comellas, Stephanie Connell, Erwin Dehouck, Dorothea Delapp, Ari Essunfeld, Cecile Fabre, Thierry Fouchet, Cristina Garcia, Laura Garcia-Gomez, Patrick J. Gasda, Olivier Gasnault, Elisabeth Hausrath, Nina L. Lanza, Javier Laserna, Jeremie Lasue, Guillermo Lopez, Juan Manuel Madariaga, Lucia Mandon, Nicolas Mangold, Pierre-Yves Meslin, Marion Nachon, Anthony Nelson, Horton E. Newsom, Adriana Reyes-Newell, Scott Robinson, Fernando Rull, Shiv Sharma, Justin I Simon, Pablo Sobron, Imanol Torre Fernandez, Arya Udry, Dawn Venhaus, Scott McLennan, Richard V. Morris, Bethany L. Ehlmann
Improving ChemCam LIBS long-distance elemental compositions using empirical abundance trends
The ChemCam instrument on the Curiosity rover provides chemical compositions of Martian rocks and soils using remote laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The elemental calibration is stable as a function of distance for Ti, Fe, Mg, and Ca. The calibration shows small, systematically increasing abundance trends as a function of distance for Al, Na, K, and to some extent, Si. The distance ef
Authors
Roger C. Wiens, A. J. Blazon-Brown, N. Melikechi, J. Frydenvang, E. Dehouck, S. M. Clegg, D. Delapp, Ryan Anderson, A. Cousin, S. Maurice
Quantification of manganese for ChemCam Mars and laboratory spectra using a multivariate model
We report a new calibration model for manganese using the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy instrument that is part of the ChemCam instrument suite onboard the NASA Curiosity rover. The model has been trained using an expanded set of 523 manganese-bearing rock, mineral, metal ore, and synthetic standards. The optimal calibration model uses the Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Least Absolute Shri
Authors
Patrick J. Gasda, Ryan Anderson, A. Cousin, O. Forni, S. M. Clegg, A. Ollila, Nina L. Lanza, S Lamm, Roger C. Wiens, Sylvestre Maurice, Olivier Gasnault, R. Beal, A. Reyes-Newell, D. Delapp
Alternating wet and dry depositional environments recorded in the stratigraphy of Mt Sharp at Gale Crater, Mars
The Curiosity rover is exploring Hesperian-aged stratigraphy in Gale crater, Mars, where a transition from clay-bearing units to a layered sulfate-bearing unit has been interpreted to represent a major environmental transition of unknown character. We present the first description of key facies in the sulfate-bearing unit, recently observed in the distance by the rover, and propose a model for cha
Authors
William Rapin, Gilles Dromart, Dave Rubin, Laticia Le Deit, Nicolas Mangold, Lauren A. Edgar, Olivier Gasnault, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, S. Lemouelic, Ryan Anderson, S. Maurice, V. Fox, B. L. Ehlmann, J. L. Dickson, R. C. Wiens
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is the remote elemental analysis technique used by the ChemCam instrument on the Curiosity rover. LIBS involves remotely ablating material from rocks and soils with a focused high-energy laser, which generates an optically excited plasma from which the elements in the rock or soil sample are quantitatively determined. The LIBS technique offers many advan
Authors
Samuel M. Clegg, Ryan Anderson, Noureddine Melikechi
The mineral diversity of Jezero crater: Evidence for possible lacustrine carbonates on Mars
Noachian-aged Jezero crater is the only known location on Mars where clear orbital detections of carbonates are found in close proximity to clear fluvio-lacustrine features indicating the past presence of a paleolake; however, it is unclear whether or not the carbonates in Jezero are related to the lacustrine activity. This distinction is critical for evaluating the astrobiological potential of th
Authors
Briony H. N. Horgan, Ryan Anderson, G. Dromart, Elena S. Amador, Melissa S. Rice
Complex bedding geometry in the upper portion of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars
The Upper formation of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater exhibits curvilinear bedding patterns on the surfaces of several erosional benches that have been interpreted as cross-bedding. We use High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) stereo topography to test this hypothesis by measuring the bedding geometry within these benches. The bedding geometry is consistent with aeolian cross-beds: measu
Authors
Ryan Anderson, Lauren A. Edgar, David M. Rubin, Kevin W. Lewis, Claire Newman
Basalt–trachybasalt samples in Gale Crater, Mars
The ChemCam instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity, observed numerous igneous float rocks and conglomerate clasts, reported previously. A new statistical analysis of single‐laser‐shot spectra of igneous targets observed by ChemCam shows a strong peak at ~55 wt% SiO2 and 6 wt% total alkalis, with a minor secondary maximum at 47–51 wt% SiO2 and lower alkali content. The cen
Authors
Peter H. Edwards, John C. Bridges, Roger C. Wiens, Ryan B. Anderson, M. Darby Dyar, Martin Fisk, Lucy Thompson, Patrick J. Gasda, Justin Filiberto, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Diana L. Blaney, Ian Hutchinson
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Filter Total Items: 28
Regolith of the crater floor units, Jezero crater, Mars: Textures, composition and implications for provenance
A multi-instrument study of the regolith of Jezero crater floor units by the Perseverance rover has identified three types of regolith: fine-grained, coarse-grained, and mixed-type. Mastcam-Z, WATSON, and SuperCam RMI were used to characterize regolith texture, particle size, and roundedness where possible. Mastcam-Z multispectral and SuperCam LIBS data were used to constrain the composition of thAuthorsAlicia Vaughan, Michelle E. Minitti, Emily L. Cardarelli, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Linda C. Kah, Paolo Pilleri, Mellisa S. Rice, Mark Sephton, Briony H. N. Horgan, Roger C. Wiens, R. Aileen Yingst, Maria-Paz Zorzano Mier, Ryan Anderson, James F. III Bell, Adrian J. Brown, Edward A. Cloutis, Agnes Cousin, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Elisabeth M. Housrath, Alexander G. Hayes, Kjartan M. Kinch, Marco Merusi, Chase C. Million, Robert Sullivan, Sandra M. Siljestrom, Michael St. ClairSpatial and temporal distribution of sinuous ridges in southeastern Terra Sabaea and the northern region of Hellas Planitia, Mars
Sinuous ridges are an important yet understudied component of Mars' hydrologic history. We have produced a map of sinuous ridges, valleys and channels, and tectonic ridges across southeastern Terra Sabaea and into northern Hellas Planitia (10°-45° S, 35°-80° E) using a CTX mosaic. Although we mapped different types of ridges and negative relief features, the focus of this paper are the sinuous ridAuthorsAmber Gullikson, Ryan Anderson, Rebecca M.E. WilliamsMorphology and paleohydrology of intracrater alluvial fans north of Hellas Basin, Mars
Alluvial fans and sinuous ridges are both important records of the history of fluvial activity on Mars, and they often occur together. We present observations of alluvial fans, many of which exhibit inverted relief, in five craters in the region north of Hellas basin. The observed fans ranged in size from ~10 to 820 km2. We identified three primary fan surface morphology classes (chute, degraded,AuthorsRyan Anderson, Rebecca Williams, Amber Gullikson, William NelsonOverview of the morphology and chemistry of diagenetic features in the clay-rich Glen Torridon Unit of Gale Crater, Mars
The clay-rich Glen Torridon region of Gale crater, Mars, was explored between sols 2300 and 3007. Here, we analyzed the diagenetic features observed by Curiosity, including veins, cements, nodules, and nodular bedrock, using the ChemCam, Mastcam, and Mars Hand Lens Imager instruments. We discovered many diagenetic features in Glen Torridon, including dark-toned iron- and manganese-rich veins, magnAuthorsPatrick J. Gasda, Jade Comellas, A Essunfeld, D. Das, Alex B Bryk, Erwin Dehouck, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Laura Crossey, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Jeffrey B. Johnson, Horton E. Newsom, Nina L. Lanza, William Rapin, Walter Goetz, Pierre-Yves Meslin, John C. Bridges, Ryan Anderson, Gaël David, S M R Turner, M T Thorpe, Linda C. Kah, Jens Frydenvang, Rachel Kronyak, G. Caravaca, Ann M. Ollila, Stephane Le Mouelic, M Nellessen, Megan Hoffman, Deirdra M. Fey, Agnes Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, Sam M. Clegg, Sylvestre Maurice, Olivier Gasnault, Dorothy Delapp, A. Reyes-NewellPost-landing major element quantification using SuperCam laser induced breakdown spectroscopy
The SuperCam instrument on the Perseverance Mars 2020 rover uses a pulsed 1064 nm laser to ablate targets at a distance and conduct laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) by analyzing the light from the resulting plasma. SuperCam LIBS spectra are preprocessed to remove ambient light, noise, and the continuum signal present in LIBS observations. Prior to quantification, spectra are masked to rAuthorsRyan Anderson, Olivier Forni, Agnes Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, Jens Frydenvang, Travis S.J. Gabriel, Ann M. Ollila, Susanne Schröder, Olivier Beyssac, Erin Gibbons, David Vogt, Elise Clave, Jose-Antonio Manrique, Carey Legett, Paolo Pilleri, Raymond Newell, Joseph Sarrao, Sylvestre Maurice, Gorka Arana, Karim Benzerara, Pernelle Bernardi, Sylvain Bernard, Bruno Bousquet, Adrian J. Brown, Cesar Alvarez-Llamas, Baptiste Chide, Edward A. Cloutis, Jade Comellas, Stephanie Connell, Erwin Dehouck, Dorothea Delapp, Ari Essunfeld, Cecile Fabre, Thierry Fouchet, Cristina Garcia, Laura Garcia-Gomez, Patrick J. Gasda, Olivier Gasnault, Elisabeth Hausrath, Nina L. Lanza, Javier Laserna, Jeremie Lasue, Guillermo Lopez, Juan Manuel Madariaga, Lucia Mandon, Nicolas Mangold, Pierre-Yves Meslin, Marion Nachon, Anthony Nelson, Horton E. Newsom, Adriana Reyes-Newell, Scott Robinson, Fernando Rull, Shiv Sharma, Justin I Simon, Pablo Sobron, Imanol Torre Fernandez, Arya Udry, Dawn Venhaus, Scott McLennan, Richard V. Morris, Bethany L. EhlmannImproving ChemCam LIBS long-distance elemental compositions using empirical abundance trends
The ChemCam instrument on the Curiosity rover provides chemical compositions of Martian rocks and soils using remote laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The elemental calibration is stable as a function of distance for Ti, Fe, Mg, and Ca. The calibration shows small, systematically increasing abundance trends as a function of distance for Al, Na, K, and to some extent, Si. The distance efAuthorsRoger C. Wiens, A. J. Blazon-Brown, N. Melikechi, J. Frydenvang, E. Dehouck, S. M. Clegg, D. Delapp, Ryan Anderson, A. Cousin, S. MauriceQuantification of manganese for ChemCam Mars and laboratory spectra using a multivariate model
We report a new calibration model for manganese using the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy instrument that is part of the ChemCam instrument suite onboard the NASA Curiosity rover. The model has been trained using an expanded set of 523 manganese-bearing rock, mineral, metal ore, and synthetic standards. The optimal calibration model uses the Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Least Absolute ShriAuthorsPatrick J. Gasda, Ryan Anderson, A. Cousin, O. Forni, S. M. Clegg, A. Ollila, Nina L. Lanza, S Lamm, Roger C. Wiens, Sylvestre Maurice, Olivier Gasnault, R. Beal, A. Reyes-Newell, D. DelappAlternating wet and dry depositional environments recorded in the stratigraphy of Mt Sharp at Gale Crater, Mars
The Curiosity rover is exploring Hesperian-aged stratigraphy in Gale crater, Mars, where a transition from clay-bearing units to a layered sulfate-bearing unit has been interpreted to represent a major environmental transition of unknown character. We present the first description of key facies in the sulfate-bearing unit, recently observed in the distance by the rover, and propose a model for chaAuthorsWilliam Rapin, Gilles Dromart, Dave Rubin, Laticia Le Deit, Nicolas Mangold, Lauren A. Edgar, Olivier Gasnault, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, S. Lemouelic, Ryan Anderson, S. Maurice, V. Fox, B. L. Ehlmann, J. L. Dickson, R. C. WiensLaser-induced breakdown spectroscopy
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is the remote elemental analysis technique used by the ChemCam instrument on the Curiosity rover. LIBS involves remotely ablating material from rocks and soils with a focused high-energy laser, which generates an optically excited plasma from which the elements in the rock or soil sample are quantitatively determined. The LIBS technique offers many advanAuthorsSamuel M. Clegg, Ryan Anderson, Noureddine MelikechiThe mineral diversity of Jezero crater: Evidence for possible lacustrine carbonates on Mars
Noachian-aged Jezero crater is the only known location on Mars where clear orbital detections of carbonates are found in close proximity to clear fluvio-lacustrine features indicating the past presence of a paleolake; however, it is unclear whether or not the carbonates in Jezero are related to the lacustrine activity. This distinction is critical for evaluating the astrobiological potential of thAuthorsBriony H. N. Horgan, Ryan Anderson, G. Dromart, Elena S. Amador, Melissa S. RiceComplex bedding geometry in the upper portion of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars
The Upper formation of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater exhibits curvilinear bedding patterns on the surfaces of several erosional benches that have been interpreted as cross-bedding. We use High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) stereo topography to test this hypothesis by measuring the bedding geometry within these benches. The bedding geometry is consistent with aeolian cross-beds: measuAuthorsRyan Anderson, Lauren A. Edgar, David M. Rubin, Kevin W. Lewis, Claire NewmanBasalt–trachybasalt samples in Gale Crater, Mars
The ChemCam instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity, observed numerous igneous float rocks and conglomerate clasts, reported previously. A new statistical analysis of single‐laser‐shot spectra of igneous targets observed by ChemCam shows a strong peak at ~55 wt% SiO2 and 6 wt% total alkalis, with a minor secondary maximum at 47–51 wt% SiO2 and lower alkali content. The cenAuthorsPeter H. Edwards, John C. Bridges, Roger C. Wiens, Ryan B. Anderson, M. Darby Dyar, Martin Fisk, Lucy Thompson, Patrick J. Gasda, Justin Filiberto, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Diana L. Blaney, Ian Hutchinson - News