Jennifer Blank

Jen Blank is a Senior Researcher and Educator with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science and NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. Her work spans geochemistry, astrobiology, and planetary science. She served on the Science Team for the Mars Curiosity Rover and held operational roles for its planetary laser instrument, still active on the Martian surface. More recently, Jen conceived and led the NASA BRAILLE Project, a Mars analog investigation to characterize microbial metabolisms and geochemical biosignatures in lava tubes and evaluate heterogenous, autonomous robotic strategies for future exploration of volcanic caves on Mars. As a Sustainability Subject Matter Expert, she assesses emerging technologies for scalable, energy-efficient atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR). She holds BS/BA degrees in Geology and English from Stanford University, an MS in Oceanography from the University of Washington, a PhD in Geochemistry from Caltech, and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.