S. M. Howell

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

S. M. Howell is a pioneering planetary scientist whose work centers on the exploration of ocean worlds—icy moons like Europa, Enceladus, and Titan that harbor subsurface liquid oceans and are among the most promising targets in the search for extraterrestrial life. Howell’s major contributions lie at the intersection of planetary protection and mission concept development. In their highly influential 2022 paper, "Resurfacing: An Approach to Planetary Protection for Geologically Active Ocean Worlds," they introduced a novel framework for ensuring that robotic missions do not contaminate these pristine environments, a critical challenge for future landers and probes. That same year, Howell co-authored "SWIM – Sensing with Independent Micro-swimmers," a visionary concept proposing a swarm of tiny, self-propelled robots to explore subsurface oceans—a project that has garnered attention from NASA and the broader astrobiology community. With over 5 citations across these foundational works, Howell is shaping the strategic roadmap for exploring the solar system’s most enigmatic worlds. Their work is essential reading for any student or researcher interested in planetary science, astrobiology, or the engineering of next-generation space missions.