I am Senior Research Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute studying geomorphology and landscape evolution on planetary surfaces. My areas of expertise are in mechanical weathering processes, the properties of ice, rock, and regolith, and thermal modeling. I worked geographically at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for ten years in southern California where I still live. I am also a former member on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve a sample from asteroid Bennu and a collaborator on the followup mission OSIRIS-APEX.
I study how mechanical stresses induced by daily heating and cooling drive the development of fractures in rocky and icy material, causing boulder breakdown and regolith (dust) production. This is a slow cyclic process which drives changes in the morphology and physical properties of boulders and broader landscapes on moons, asteroids, and comets. I also study how temperature changes in icy material drive sintering and metamorphism of the surfaces of ocean worlds like Europa and Enceladus. I study these processes at a variety of scales, from micro- to macroscopic, working to build an in-depth understanding the role that temperature plays in surface evolution. I employ a combination of numerical modeling and laboratory experiments in this research, along with the occasional terrestrial field study.
I am the recipient of the NASA Early Career Award in Planetary Science and the SSERVI Susan Mahan Niebur Early Career Award, and I also have an asteroid (30379 Molaro) named in recognition of my contributions to asteroid science.
In 2024, I was awarded the Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science for my outreach efforts using art to engage the public with science. I also do a lot of informal outreach through my art, and service in my leadership of DAIS (Disabled for Accessibility In Space), a peer networking organization for Disabled space professionals. You can read more about my Outreach & Service here.
Recent Science Interviews:
- CosmoQuest’s Daily Space with Pamela Gay and Open Space with Frasier Cain to discuss my work studying weathering on asteroid Bennu
Recent Publications: (pdf’s linked)
- Molaro, J. L., et al., The role of mineralogy on fatigue-crack formation in samples from asteroid Bennu with implications for boulder evolution, in review with Icarus
- Molaro, J. L., et al. 2024. Mission AstroAccess: Testing accessibility accommodations for disabled and mixed-ability crews operating in space-like environments, with implications for accessible design and inclusive human spaceflight, Acta Astronautica 10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.02.012.
- Molaro, J. L., 2023. The Art of Planetary Science: Art as a tool for inquiry and its role in the future of space exploration. Culture and Cosmos, 27, no. 1 and 2, Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter 2023, 173-190.
- Molaro, J. L., et al., 2020. Thermal fatigue as a mechanism for asteroid activity, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, p.e2019JE006325.
- Molaro, J. L., et al., 2020. In situ evidence of thermally induced rock breakdown widespread on Bennu’s surface, Nature Communications, 11(1), 1-11.
- Molaro, J. L, et al., 2018. The microstructural evolution of water ice in the solar system through sintering. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
- Molaro, J. L, S Byrne, and J.-L. Le, 2017. Thermally induced stresses in lunar boulders, implications for breakdown. Icarus, 294, pp.247-261..
Jamie L. Molaro 