Sedimentary and Planetary Geologist Dr. Michael Thorpe

“I didn’t always grow up knowing that I was going to be working for NASA. It was just the way my life unfolded, and I couldn’t be more grateful and lucky to have this opportunity to be here. I think hiking is what really got me into my passion for wanting to have this outdoors kind of career. I’ve always pursued environmental science and geology, and still at that point in time, I had no idea that I could apply that kind of science to outer space and work for NASA one day.

“It wasn’t until I had these amazing mentors in front of me who were showing me, ‘Hey, what you’re doing, you can apply this to, for instance, Mars.’ And that’s what sparked my inspiration — [realizing] Mars had these ancient lakes and [wondering], ‘How can I use what I’m doing here on Earth to understand what was going on with those ancient lakes on Mars?’

“I’m kind of lucky. It’s less of a job and more of this exciting career opportunity where I get to go out into the field and even hike for a good portion of [my workday]. For instance, I just got back from Iceland where I was for 10 days. On these field trips, I’m in my comfort zone wearing a flannel and winter hat, backpacking with my rock hammer and shovel, hiking for a few hours to pick up samples, and then come back home to analyze them in the lab. I couldn’t have written a better story for me to continue doing the stuff that I enjoyed as a child and now to be doing it now for NASA is something I couldn’t have even dreamed of.

“Hiking and being in the field is the fun part. But then I get to come back to the lab and compare it to what Martian rovers are doing. They’re our hikers, our pioneers, our explorers, our geologists who are collecting samples for us on other planets.  It’s remarkable, often mind-blowing, to be able to work directly with our planetary geologists as well as the amazing people on the rover teams from around the globe to understand the surface of Mars and then eventually, compare it to what I see in the field here on Earth.

“So, I’m still that young boy at heart with my backpack and flannel on and headed out into the field.”

– Dr. Michael Thrope, Sedimentary and Planetary Geologist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Image Credit: Iceland Space Agency/Daniel Leeb
Interviewer: NASA/Tahira Allen

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