Michael J. Mumma

Michael J. Mumma is an American astrobiologist at the Goddard Space Flight Center; he is best known for his investigation of the chemistry of comets.

Michael J. Mumma, 2010 (cropped)

Education

Mumma graduated Franklin and Marshall College in 1963, with an A.B. in physics. He received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1970, and joined NASA's GSFC thereafter.

Career

Mumma is the founding director of the Goddard Center for Astrobiology (2003–present) and Senior Scientist in the Solar System Exploration Division (2005–present).[1] He has had adjunct professorships at Pennsylvania State University, University of Toledo and University of Maryland during his tenure with GFSC.[1]

Mumma's major research interests have been largely directed towards understanding life's origin and its distribution in the cosmos through the study of planetary and cometary chemistry. Mumma pioneered the first detection of water in comets.[2] Using similar spectrometric methodology Mumma has identified many other gaseous species found in comets.[3] He posits that it is possible that comets "seeded life" on the Earth, filling the oceans with water and essential molecular building blocks.[4] He uses information gleaned from Comet LINEAR showing the same isotopic composition as water on the Earth.[5] Recent cometary data on water confirms the data from Comet LINEAR.[6] For his longstanding contribution to planetary science, in 1999 the International Astronomical Union named asteroid 8340 "Michael J. Mumma".[7]

Mumma's group at GFSC was the first to report methane plumes on Mars, and suggested that pores in the soil might open only during certain seasons.[8] These findings have been recently confirmed.[9][10] The source of the methane is still unresolved, whether it is geochemical or from living systems, which would indicate life on Mars. As far as further findings and conclusions, Mumma stated: "There will be surprising results."[11]

Mumma reports that the most important thing he does is working "intensely" with young scientists, exposing them to the "exciting" research at GFSC.[12] At Goddard, he has mentored 31 post-docs and senior visiting scientists and has codirected eight Ph. D. theses.[1]

So, every day brings something new to us. It's the newness, the continued discovery-rather small ones, larger ones, it doesn't matter, and in my view it's not work, you see. This is the way we spend our lives, in discovery, and this is an opportunity to continue doing that daily.[12]

In 2019 Mumma was part of the team that found water vapors on Europa. This is important as Europa is a prime target in looking for life forms in the solar system.[13]

Mumma appeared as himself in a 2007 episode of The Universe.[14]

Awards

Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society, 1990[15]

NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, 1997.

John C. Lindsay Memorial Award, 2009[16]

Society of Distinguished Alumni, Franklin and Marshall College.[17]

8340 Mumma, minor planet named after him.

gollark: I suspect that the problem is line 380. Somehow.
gollark: That's a weird conditional, but... probably yes?
gollark: Well, that's cx apparently.
gollark: Um.
gollark: 🇨🇽

References
  1. "Editorial Board, Molecular Astrophysics-Mumma biography". Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  2. "The Search for Life on Mars". imodules.fandm.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  3. GSFC, Bill Steigerwald. "NASA – Deep Impact Comet May Have Formed in Giant Planets Region". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  4. "First Evidence That Comets Filled The Oceans: A Dying Comet's Kin May Have Nourished Life On Earth". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  5. "A Taste for Comet Water". solarviews.com. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  6. Ryan, Jackson. "NASA scientists find Earth-like water in passing comet". CNET. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  7. "ASROC 2012 天文年會 ｜ ASROC 2012 Annual Meeting". www.asroc.org.tw. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  8. Smith, Michael D.; Mandell, Avi M.; DiSanti, Michael A.; Bonev, Boncho P.; Hewagama, Tilak; Novak, Robert E.; Villanueva, Geronimo L.; Mumma, Michael J. (2009-02-20). "Strong Release of Methane on Mars in Northern Summer 2003". Science. 323 (5917): 1041–1045. doi:10.1126/science.1165243. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 19150811.
  9. Overbye, Dennis (2019-06-25). "With a Poof, Mars Methane Is Gone". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  10. Science, Mike Wall 2019-04-01T15:59:39Z; Astronomy. "There Is Definitely Methane on Mars, Scientists Say. But Is It a Sign of Life?". Space.com. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  11. Witze, Alexandra (2018-10-25). "Mars scientists edge closer to solving methane mystery". Nature. 563 (7729): 18–19. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-07177-4. PMID 30377322.
  12. "Interview Michael J. Mumma". gsfc.nasa.gov. 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  13. "Astronomers Directly Detect Water Vapor on Europa for First Time | Astronomy". clicklancashire.com. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  14. The Universe (TV Series 2007– ) – IMDb, retrieved 2019-06-04
  15. "APS Fellow Archive". www.aps.org. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  16. "Lindsay Award". Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  17. "Franklin & Marshall – Society of Distinguished Alumni". www.fandm.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
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