Lynch at a Mars analog field site in Pilot Valley, Utah, U.S.
Born
United States
Scientific career
Fields
Astrobiology, science, engineering
Institutions
Universities Space. Research Association - Lunar and Planetary Institute, NASA Johnson Space Center, Georgia Institute of Technology/University of Montana, Jacobs Sverdrup/ Lockheed Martin Space Operations, International Space Station Program, Abbott Laboratories, The Boeing Company
Academic advisors
Dr. David Klaus (grad), Dr. Junko Munakata Marr (grad), Dr. John Spear (grad)
Kennda Lian Lynch is an American astrobiologist, a person who studies life on other planets.[1][2] She studies extremophiles.[2][1] She works with with NASA.[3] She finds places on Earth that are like places on other planets. She looks at life on Earth and predicts what life would look like on other planets.[4] Lynch also looks at fossils that show us extinct life. She wants to identify what life might look like on other planets.[4][5] Much of Lynch's research has been in the Pilot Valley Basin in the Great Salt Desert of northwestern Utah, U.S.[6] In ancient times that area had a lake. Mars has a similar ancient lake called Jezero Crater.[7] Because of Lynch's research in the Pilot Valley Basin, NASA decided to land the Perseverance Rover mission at Jezero Crater.[7] Jim Greene, Chief Scientist at NASA, called Lynch "a perfect expert to be involved in the Perseverance rover."[8] She is also helping to chose a landing site for NASA's first mission to Mars that will have people on it. That mission is scheduled for in 2035.[9] Lynch has appeared in two television series. She also appeared in The New York Times,[7]Nature,[10]Scientific American,[11] and Popular Science.[6] Science magazine Cell Press called Lynch one of the most inspiring Black scientists in the United States.[12]Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name