Pioneering Researcher in Planetary Gravity Science and Orbit Determination

Marzia Parisi graduated in 2015 from Sapienza University of Rome, with a PhD in Aeronautical and Space Technology in the field of Radio Science. At the Radio Science Laboratory, led by Prof. Luciano Iess, she was introduced to the field of Orbit Determination and Gravity Science, a remote sensing technique for the study of planetary and satellite interiors by means of precise Doppler tracking of interplanetary spacecraft. Subtle variations in radio carrier frequencies bear information about equally subtle perturbations of the probe velocity, which are sensitive to the gravity field of the body and its interior structure and dynamics. Dr. Parisi started her career by carrying out precise numerical simulations of ESA’s JUICE radiometric measurements, which will launch in 2022. The objective of the onboard gravity experiment is the detection of subsurface oceans on Jupiter’s Galilean moons, with particular focus on Ganymede, the largest satellite in the Solar System. In her PhD thesis, Dr. Parisi successfully proved the possibility of detecting hidden liquid water reservoir on Ganymede, by means of precise tidal measurements. In addition, she developed techniques for the precise reconstruction of the spacecraft trajectory (multi-arc and batch sequential filters), in the challenging Jovian environment. Her work on the search for liquid water in the Solar System continued with the analysis of NASA’s Cassini mission gravity data, collected at the numerous and variegated icy moons of Saturn (e.g. Enceladus, Rhea, Titan).

For Enceladus, Dr. Parisi was responsible for the data analysis that led to the discovery of a regional water ocean at its south pole. This discovery fueled renewed interest in the small icy moon, which quickly became one of the targets for future astrobiology missions. In late 2014, Dr. Parisi accepted a Postdoctoral Fellow position at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, where she was awarded the Dean’s Fellowship. Here, she established her first connection with NASA’s Juno mission at Jupiter, which continues to this day. She explored the multiple and diverse interconnections between radiometric measurements of gravitational fields, and atmospheric dynamics of gas giants. She developed the concept of determining the depth of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot with multiple Juno overflights, measurements that were completed in 2019. In parallel, she was introduced to the discipline of radio occultations, with applications to the Jovian system, both for the neutral atmosphere and the electrically charged regions of Jupiter and its moons. In 2016 Dr. Parisi joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech), as a Postdoctoral Fellow first, and as a Research Scientist a year later in the Planetary Radar and Radio Sciences group. Ever since, she has been working on the Juno gravity science experiment and became an integral part of its science team. Among her accomplishments (shared with the Juno team), we find the first detection ever of a hemispherically asymmetric gravity field of a gas giant (Jupiter), related to the depth of the visible powerful zonal jets. Since 2017, she is also a member of the Juno Gravity Science operation team, responsible for the acquisition, processing and analysis of the radiometric data. For her work on the Juno mission, Dr. Parisi was awarded the individual JPL’s Charles Elachi Award for Outstanding Early Career Achievement (2018) and NASA’s Early Career Achievement Medal (2019), in addition to several group awardsPioneering Researcher in Planetary Gravity Science and Orbit Determination

Team Members

Marco Colangelo

Maria Caterina Rotiroti

Pierluigi Zappacosta

Maria Gini

Sara Galli

Antonio Loquercio

Alberto Salleo

Pietro De Camilli

Antonella Palmese

Pietro De Camilli

Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli

Marzia Parisi