Profile – ExoMars Rover Zone

Education:

Aberdeen
Qualifications:

I did O-grades, Highers, CSYS. At University I did a BSc in Geology and later a Diploma in Physical Science. I did a PhD at the Open University.
Work History:

Newspaper and letters delivery, hospital porter, Natural History Museum, Open University, laboratories in the United States, since 2007 I have been at the University of Leicester
Current Job:

Professor of Planetary Science

Favourite thing to do in my job: Explore the Solar System
About Me

I am a planetary scientist at the University of Leicester
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I live in Leicester with my partner Sally and dog Harry. I teach undergraduates, PhD students and do planetary science research at the University of Leicester. my research includes studying materials from other planets , asteroids and Moons and studying planetary surfaces.

I am also on the Mars Science Laboratory rover team. I do rover operations work and analyse the results. One of the fun things I get to do is name targets on Mars, in the last few years I have named over 1000 targets after geological localities and places in Scotland.
My Work on the ExoMars Mission

I'm on PanCam, Raman instrument teams and did a lot of work in the selection of the landing site - Oxia Planum
My Typical Day: I often teach in the morning , perhaps a lecture or tutorial and do research in the afternoon and evening. I was present at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US, during landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars. It was nerve racking but ultimately a great success!
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Selfie of the Mars rover Curiosity. I ma on the Curiosity science and operations teams.

John Bridges