Casey I Honniball

Dr. Casey I. Honniball is an Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a former NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. She specializes in lunar volatiles, infrared remote sensing, and instrument development. Her work focuses on detecting molecular water on the Moon, particularly using SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy). She has contributed to instrument development, such as the MIDAS imager and lidar systems like TINSIL and SpIRRL. She is a Co-Investigator on the NASA VIPER mission, studying lunar volatiles and their distribution.

• Education:
  • B.S. in Astronomy (University of Arizona, 2014)
  • M.S. in Geology and Geophysics (University of Hawaii at Mānoa, 2017)
  • Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Science (University of Hawaii at Mānoa, 2019)

Her research interests include lunar hydration mechanisms, mid-infrared spectroscopy, and planetary instrument design. She has pioneered SOFIA-based observations confirming molecular water on the sunlit lunar surface. Her work bridges ground-based telescopes, airborne observatories, and in-situ missions like VIPER to understand volatile cycles.

Awards:

• 2020 Best SOFIA Thesis of the Year
• 2018 UH Graduate Division Achievement Award
• 2017 AGU Outstanding Student Poster Award

Advising/Grants:

• Co-Investigator on VIPER mission (NASA)
• Lead on multiple SOFIA observing programs (2020–2024)
• Member of RISE2 SSERVI team (planetary field instruments)

Labs/Teams: Instrument teams for SOFIA, TINSIL lidar, and VIPER. Collaborates with RISE2 on portable spectral tools for planetary exploration.