Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

E. DeJong is a planetary scientist whose work has fundamentally shaped our understanding of water on Mars. Her primary research focuses on Martian volatiles, climate history, and the geomorphology of the planet’s polar regions. DeJong’s most significant contribution came through her involvement with the **Phoenix Mars Lander** mission, where she played a key role in analyzing the ice-rich soil of the northern arctic. Her landmark paper, *"H₂O at the Phoenix Landing Site"* (2009), has garnered **over 559 citations**, providing direct evidence of subsurface water ice and its interaction with the Martian regolith. This work demonstrated that liquid water may have existed in the recent past, reshaping models of Mars’ climate evolution. Earlier, DeJong contributed to the **Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS)** payload for the Mars Polar Lander, laying the groundwork for polar exploration. Her research bridges robotic exploration and planetary climate science, offering critical insights into the stability of water on Mars. DeJong’s findings remain essential for understanding habitability and guiding future missions to the Red Planet.