Walter Goetz

Dr. Walter Goetz is a Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen, Germany, specializing in the geochemical evolution of the Martian surface. He has been affiliated with the University of Göttingen as a Privatdozent since 2013, while maintaining a full-time research role at MPS.

• Education: Master's in Physics/Chemistry (Paris VI & XI), Bachelor's in Chemistry (Freiburg), PhD & postdoc (Copenhagen)

Research Interests

• Planetary Science: Analysis of extraterrestrial surface materials
• Geochemistry: Elemental and mineral composition of Martian soils
• Mars Exploration: Instrumentation for in-situ analysis (ChemCam, MOMA)
• Remote Sensing: Scale measurement in planetary imagery
• Astrobiology: Detection of organic compounds on Mars

Publication Trends: His 2023 work focuses on copper abundance mapping via ChemCam and spatial scale determination in Martian images. Earlier studies (2005-2016) cover dust mineralogy, organic detection challenges, and Phoenix mission soil analysis.

Labs & Teams:

• Key scientist at Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
• MOMA Science Team member (2016 paper)
• Phoenix mission soil analysis team (2010 paper)