Vishnu Reddy
Scientist - University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
The following interview is a written interview conducted by the Outreach team at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL).
Dawn is the biggest mission for asteroid geology in my generation. We are going to study an object that evolved more than 10 million years after the solar system formed.
I work with the Dawn Framing Camera team at Max Planck. My main tasks are ground-based study of Vesta with telescopes to know Vesta's composition. I am a planetary geologist, so I apply earth geological knowledge to understand Vesta.
Spacecraft missions are very complex. The biggest challenge has been learning to work with in a group with people from a different culture and background. The mission is as much about people as it is about Vesta.
Interacting with people on the mission especially when they disagree with me. The science is obviously the cool aspect. It is a cosmic CSI.
I have written two papers about Vesta this year, predicting what we will see when we get there. So in less than a year I will know if my prediction is right or wrong. As a young PhD for me this is a great opportunity. How often can you get to predict something and have a spacecraft verify this within one year? This is something I can only dream of.
My personal goal is tool development to analyze the data. The tools are the key to answering the question I have.
I was an amateur astronomer, but now that I do this for a living I need a new hobby. I love the ocean, so I snorkel near my home in Hawaii, also paint and enjoy photography. I love to cook.
I would love to have a rover on Vesta like how we have on Mars. Maybe it can be done in our lifetime.
I always loved space. I grew up in India near a small island where we launch all our rockets from, so I grew up around a lot of space hardware.
This is a long story. I stared my education (BSC) in film making. I worked in Bollywood (Indian Hollywood). Then I got an MS in Journalism and worked as a Journalist in India for 4 year. Then I decide I want to study asteroids since no one in India did. So I came to the US and got another MS and PhD.
Professor Tom Gehrels from the University of Arizona. He challenged me to discover an asteroid, because no Indian had. I proved him wrong. Now I am here.
I loved chemistry and geography.
Turn Left at Orion. It was one of my first astronomy books.
Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something. I tell students if someone like me with filmmaking background can do science, anyone can.
Planetary science is a global profession.