Papers
8
Total Citations
420
H-Index
5
About
Naomi Murdoch is a planetary scientist whose research spans Mars geophysics, small body surface dynamics, and space instrumentation. She has made significant contributions to several landmark missions, most notably as a contributor to NASA's Mars 2020 mission through the SuperCam instrument suite aboard the Perseverance rover — her most-cited work, with over 320 citations — which employs cutting-edge techniques including laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy for remote planetary analysis. Murdoch has also played an active role in the InSight mission, contributing to studies of Martian regolith behavior, seismic site characterization, and robotic arm deployment operations. Her work on dust devil dynamics, bridging terrestrial field measurements with Martian atmospheric science, further demonstrates her breadth across planetary environments. Beyond Mars, Murdoch has explored rover-regolith interactions in low-gravity environments, advancing our understanding of how spacecraft navigate small bodies such as asteroids. Her interdisciplinary approach — combining fieldwork, numerical simulations, and mission hardware — positions her as a versatile and impactful figure in planetary exploration. Students interested in Mars geophysics, in-situ instrumentation, or small body science will find her body of work both technically rigorous and mission-critical.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Field Measurements of Terrestrial and Martian Dust Devils49 citations · 2016
- 3Results from InSight Robotic Arm Activities17 citations · 2023
- 4
- 5The Mars Microphone Onboard SuperCam13 citations · 2023
- 6Froude scaling for rovers on small body surfaces 2 citations · 2022
- 7
- 8Investigating the Martian soil at the InSight landing site2 citations · 2024