Naomi Murdoch

Dr. Naomi Murdoch is a researcher at ISAE-SUPAERO where she leads work within the Space Systems for Planetary Applications (SSPA) team. She holds significant roles across multiple international space missions including NASA's InSight and Mars 2020 missions, the NASA DART mission, ESA's Hera mission, and the JAXA MMX mission to Phobos. With a first class MPhys in Astrophysics from the University of Edinburgh (2007) and a PhD in Physics and Planetary Sciences from the Open University and University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis/Côte d'Azur Observatory (2012), she brings extensive expertise to planetary science and space instrumentation.

Dr. Murdoch's research focuses on understanding the physical properties and geophysical evolution of asteroids and terrestrial planets, with particular emphasis on how space instrumentation interacts with planetary surface environments. Her work spans planetary defense, Martian atmospheric studies, asteroid surface mechanics, and the development of novel space instrumentation. She has made significant contributions to the first sound recordings on Mars, studies of Martian atmospheric turbulence, and the groundbreaking DART mission that successfully demonstrated asteroid deflection technology.

Her recent publications demonstrate expertise across multiple subfields including Martian meteorology, acoustic remote sensing, planetary defense technologies, and small body geophysics. Dr. Murdoch has served as Associate Editor for JGR: Planets since 2023 and actively mentors graduate students, having supervised at least two students to completion of their master's and PhD work. Her laboratory, the Space Systems for Planetary Applications team, focuses on preparing instrumentation for space missions and interpreting planetary data with precision.

• Associate Editor for JGR: Planets (2023)
• Principal Investigator for WheelCams instrument on MMX rover
• Key contributor to SuperCam microphone on Perseverance rover
• Leadership role in ESA Hera mission
• Member of NASA DART mission Investigation Team

Dr. Murdoch actively supervises graduate students and collaborates with international teams across NASA, ESA, JAXA, CNES, and DLR missions. Her laboratory work focuses on understanding spacecraft-terrain interactions in low-gravity environments, developing novel instrumentation for planetary exploration, and analyzing data from current missions to advance our understanding of planetary bodies. She has contributed to numerous high-impact publications in journals including Nature, Nature Communications, and Geophysical Research Letters, with work that bridges engineering, physics, and planetary science.