{"id":8827,"date":"2021-03-23T13:46:27","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T17:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.porticomagazine.ca\/?p=8827"},"modified":"2021-03-23T13:46:28","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T17:46:28","slug":"ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Life on Mars? U of G Grad Aims to Find Out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waiting for news of the safe landing of NASA\u2019s latest Mars rover in mid-February, U of G physics grad Dr. Chris Heirwegh had a discomfiting thought: If the mission failed, what would he be doing next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a scientist with NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory <\/a>(JPL) in Pasadena, California, Heirwegh had spent nearly five years helping to prepare a high-tech instrument carried aboard the Perseverance rover<\/a>. The rover touched down in the red planet\u2019s Jezero crater on Feb. 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry) is designed to help look for signs of ancient life on Mars. Carried on the rover\u2019s robotic arm, the device aims X-ray beams into rock to scan for trace inorganic elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with a second device that looks for organic molecules, PIXL will give scientists a \u201cbio-signature\u201d of any fossilized microbial remains in the rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heirwegh and his JPL colleagues will analyze data being sent home from the instrument and maintain the instrument from 300 million miles away during the rover\u2019s planned three-year mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monitoring the rover landing last month \u2013 an intricate operation involving a sky crane that lowered Perseverance to the planet\u2019s surface \u2013 Heirwegh felt \u201cpretty relaxed but excited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only later, he says, \u201cIt hit me how much was going to happen, how much strain and stress there was on the instrument going through the landing process, hoping everything would work out all right. You never know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and his wife, Meagan, and their six-year-old daughter, Harper, watched the landing at home while Chris was on a web call with his JPL team. Meagan completed a master\u2019s degree in molecular and cellular biology at U of G in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, it was done, and we were cheering,\u201d he says. The family celebrated with a rover-themed cake.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a PhD student and post-doc at U of G, Heirwegh studied X-ray fluorescence with emeritus physics professor Dr. Iain Campbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, U of G physicists <\/a>led by Dr. Ralf Gellert calibrated scientific instruments <\/a>for the Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity Mars rovers; Heirwegh was involved in analyzing data from those missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He expects to start seeing PIXL data from Mars in late spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally from Simcoe, Ont., Heirwegh studied medical physics for his master\u2019s degree at McMaster University. In a Hamilton Spectator<\/em> article this year, he said he had thought he might become a pharmacist like his dad. But he wanted to learn more about the physics behind medical imaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After completing his doctorate at U of G in 2014, he did a post-doc here before heading to Caltech for another post-doc at JPL in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to his U of G supervisor, Heirwegh says, \u201cIain was very influential in helping to shape my career, not just learning physics but helping me navigate more practical elements of conducting a working career as a research scientist. I feel very grateful for the guidance he gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Waiting for news of the safe landing of NASA\u2019s latest Mars rover in mid-February, U of G physics grad Dr. Chris Heirwegh had a discomfiting thought: If the mission failed, what would he be doing next? As a scientist with NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, Heirwegh had spent nearly five years helping<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":""},"categories":[370],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAncient Life on Mars? U of G Grad Aims to Find Out -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ancient Life on Mars? U of G Grad Aims to Find Out -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Waiting for news of the safe landing of NASA\u2019s latest Mars rover in mid-February, U of G physics grad Dr. Chris Heirwegh had a discomfiting thought: If the mission failed, what would he be doing next? As a scientist with NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, Heirwegh had spent nearly five years helping\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-23T17:46:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-23T17:46:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/heirwegh2-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Vowles\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/heirwegh2-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/heirwegh2-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1920,\"caption\":\"Dr. Chris Heirwegh, a U of G physics grad, is part of NASA's Mars rover team.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/\",\"name\":\"Ancient Life on Mars? U of G Grad Aims to Find Out -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-23T17:46:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-23T17:46:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/866a0696bf2a7ab5f80d39abf56415a1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ancient Life on Mars? U of G Grad Aims to Find Out\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/866a0696bf2a7ab5f80d39abf56415a1\",\"name\":\"Andrew Vowles\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f59820397b757f62b3109e746d821f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f59820397b757f62b3109e746d821f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Andrew Vowles\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/author\/avowles\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ancient Life on Mars? U of G Grad Aims to Find Out -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ancient Life on Mars? U of G Grad Aims to Find Out -","og_description":"Waiting for news of the safe landing of NASA\u2019s latest Mars rover in mid-February, U of G physics grad Dr. Chris Heirwegh had a discomfiting thought: If the mission failed, what would he be doing next? As a scientist with NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, Heirwegh had spent nearly five years helping","og_url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/","article_published_time":"2021-03-23T17:46:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-23T17:46:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1920,"url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/heirwegh2-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrew Vowles","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/heirwegh2-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/heirwegh2-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":1920,"caption":"Dr. Chris Heirwegh, a U of G physics grad, is part of NASA's Mars rover team."},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/","name":"Ancient Life on Mars? U of G Grad Aims to Find Out -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2021-03-23T17:46:27+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-23T17:46:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/866a0696bf2a7ab5f80d39abf56415a1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2021\/03\/ancient-life-on-mars-u-of-g-grad-aims-to-find-out\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ancient Life on Mars? U of G Grad Aims to Find Out"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/866a0696bf2a7ab5f80d39abf56415a1","name":"Andrew Vowles","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f59820397b757f62b3109e746d821f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f59820397b757f62b3109e746d821f2b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andrew Vowles"},"url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/author\/avowles\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8827"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8830,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8827\/revisions\/8830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}