NASA planetary research expert to deliver exclusive talk at Space Park Leicester
Dr Justin Filiberto, Deputy Chief of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center will deliver a talk on ‘Assessing the Evidence for Active Basaltic Volcanism on Venus: Current Limitations and Future Prospects’.
The event on Friday, 10 January, will take place in-person at Space Park Leicester, the University of Leicester’s £100 million space research and innovation hub, at 2:00pm.
The talk will appeal to a broad audience, including astrobiology engineers, space science students, and scientists and space enthusiasts keen on planetary exploration and astromaterials research.
Dr Filiberto’s presentation will highlight Venus’s volcanic activity, a crucial topic as we enter a new era of exploration for the planet.
They commented: “While Venus has not received the exploration focus that the Moon and Mars have, we are entering a new decade of Venus exploration.
“One of the biggest scientific questions about Venus is if it is still volcanically active, how active it is today, and what was the volcanic resurfacing rate through time?
“In my talk, I will discuss what we know of potentially active basaltic volcanism on Venus and point out important gaps in knowledge needed to be addressed before the new decade of Venus exploration.”
The session will begin with an overview of the ARES Division including the Mars Sample Return Project.
Dr Filiberto joined NASA in 2021 as Branch Chief of Astromaterials Research and then expanded their role to include acting Branch Chief of Curation and Acquisition within the ARES Division.
Prior to NASA, they were an associate professor of planetary geology at Southern Illinois University and later managed the geology and petrology group at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA.
Their research spans multiple planetary bodies, including Mars, Venus, Earth, and the Moon, with a focus on planetary volatile budgets, magma genesis, and mineral alterations. Notably, Dr Filiberto’s work on Venus has suggested recent volcanic activity at Idunn Mons, supported by data from the Venus Express mission.
They are also a co-investigator for the upcoming DAVINCI mission to Venus, earmarked for launch in the late 2020s.
Dr Filiberto’s contributions to planetary science extend beyond research. They advocate for early career researchers with a focus on making planetary science more inclusive and organised initiatives such as the Advancing IDEA in Planetary Science Workshop.
Professor John Bridges of Space Park Leicester and the Advanced Microscopy Facility has collaborated with Dr Filiberto and added: “Justin Filiberto is one of NASA’s leading planetary materials experts. It will be exciting to hear their perspective on new exploration of Venus and the next generation of sample return missions from the Moon and Mars that we are looking forward to.”