Two lectures by Aria Vitkova from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory



Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication Technology (FEKT) invites you to two exciting lectures by Aria Vitkova (NASA Postdoctoral Research Fellow at JPL).

Date: 11 December 2024
Location: Professor Kalendovský Auditorium, Technická 10, Brno (Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication Technology)

Lecture 1: General Lecture

Title: Toward Space Exploration: A Journey To NASA
Time: 11:00

Annotation: Join Aria Vitkova as she takes you on her inspiring journey through the space industry – from completing secondary education in the Czech Republic, studying Astronautics, earning her PhD in space instrumentation, to her professional ventures at the Space Instrumentation Lab at Oxford University and the Space Magnetometer Lab at Imperial College London, culminating in her research at JPL/NASA. This talk offers personal insights, practical advice, and industry secrets for aspiring engineers and scientists dreaming of a career in space exploration.

Lecture 2: Technical Lecture

Title: From Concept to Cosmos: Developing Instruments for Space Exploration
Time: 14:00

Annotation: Aria Vitkova provides a technical deep dive into instrumentation for space exploration, focusing on key technologies she has worked on. Highlights include Raman spectroscopy (CIRS/Europa Lander, LUSTRA/Artemis), magnetometers (J-MAG/JUICE, MAG/Vigil, MAGIC/Lunar Gateway), and radiometers (LTM/Lunar Trailblazer, MIRMIS/Comet Interceptor). Learn about the design and application of these advanced instruments and gain firsthand insights into the challenges and triumphs of space instrument development.

About Aria Vitkova

Aria Vitkova is researcher and engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She earned her PhD in Engineering and Physical Sciences from the University of Southampton in 2023, focusing on developing a miniaturized Raman instrument for detecting biosignatures on Europa and other icy worlds. Prior to her doctoral studies, she completed a Master's Degree in Space Systems Engineering.

Her expertise encompasses instrumentation for planetary exploration, with a primary focus on in-situ instruments for life detection and mineralogy on icy worlds. Aria has contributed to various missions, including:

  • Raman Spectroscopy: Development and testing for life detection missions to Icy Worlds and mineralogy on the Moon.
  • Magnetometers: Development and testing of instruments for the Lunar Gateway (NASA, ESA), JUICE (ESA) and the Vigil Mission (ESA).
  • Radiometers: Development of instruments for the Lunar Trailblazer Mission (NASA) and the Comet Interceptor Mission (ESA).

Her professional experience includes roles as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford and as a Space Instrument Engineer at the Space Magnetometer Lab, Imperial College London.

 

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