Anthony DeNicola
5 dispatches · Kīlauea
A Different Kind of Rock Collector
Cynthia Evans, a field geologist and astromaterials curator at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, brought her X-ray fluorescence expertise to the RIS4E field test at Kīlauea in June 2015. Working alongside Kelsey Young, she used XRF measurements to assess the chemical composition of surface rocks, helping to determine which samples future astronauts on the Moon or Mars should prioritize collecting.
ReadGoddess of Fire
Kīlauea is the world’s most active volcano, and its Ka’u desert, still scarred by a dramatic 1974 eruption, drew the RIS4E team to Hawaii in June 2015. The basaltic lava fields that local rangers accept as a force of nature offered NASA scientists something rarer: a close Earth analog to the surfaces of the Moon, Mars, and near-Earth asteroids.
ReadThe Right Hat for the Right Stuff
Jake Bleacher arrived at Kīlauea in June 2015 wearing both a signature black leather hat and an unfamiliar title: RIS4E field team leader. The volcanologist and planetary geologist at NASA Goddard had spent years training astronauts in field geology, but leading a mission meant trading his usual scientist’s focus for an overview of every instrument and every team.
ReadThe Indefatigable Geologist
Kelsey Young served as the RIS4E field team’s deputy leader and X-ray fluorescence team leader during the June 2015 Hawaii expedition. A post-doctoral geologist from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, she and teammate Cynthia Evans tested a handheld XRF scanner across the lava fields of Kīlauea, chasing rock samples with the same tenacity she’d shown on expeditions across several continents.
ReadX-ray Fluorescence
Kelsey Young and Cynthia Evans worked Kīlauea’s lava fields in June 2015 with a hand-held X-ray fluorescence scanner that could read a rock’s chemical composition in 60 seconds. The RIS4E field test was the device’s first field deployment, and the two NASA geologists set out to learn whether real-time elemental data could sharpen sampling decisions the way astronauts would need on the Moon or Mars.
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