Melissa Rice

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Ask the dinosaurs: We aren’t ready for an asteroid ‘Big One’

It is essential that we support efforts by NASA and others to detect NEOs, characterize them and prepare for a rapid response if we need to deflect one. We in the Pacific Northwest are no more susceptible to an asteroid impact than anyone else — but we may be better suited to understand the…

2023-04-17
WWU's Melissa Rice celebrates one-year anniversary of rover Mars landing with speaking events at Museum of Flight 2022-02-18
WWU's Melissa Rice co-publishes new article in 'Science' about the initial discoveries of the Mars Perseverance rover 2021-10-11
Perseverance’s first major successes on Mars – an update from mission scientists

In the short time since NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in Mars’ Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021, it’s already made history.

At the moment, Mars and the Earth are on opposite sides of the Sun, and the two planets cannot communicate with each other. After working nonstop for the past 216…

2021-10-08
Perseverance and the Martian Clock

Perseverance and the Martian Clock

What is “Mars Time”? Are you excited about machines flying on another planet? Or Martian rocks coming back to Earth?

If you are curious about spacecraft on the Red Planet then check out our Season 7 Premiere featuring…

2021-03-31
Perseverance's eyes see a different Mars

“We developed Mastcam-Z for a rover going to a spot on Mars that hadn’t been selected yet, so we had to design it with all the possibilities in mind—the optimal set of eyes to capture the geology of any spot on Mars,” says Melissa Rice, a planetary scientist at Western Washington University and…

2021-02-24
Perseverance's eyes see a different Mars

“We developed Mastcam-Z for a rover going to a spot on Mars that hadn’t been selected yet, so we had to design it with all the possibilities in mind—the optimal set of eyes to capture the geology of any spot on Mars,” says Melissa Rice, a planetary scientist at Western Washington University and…

2021-02-24
How a Washington geologist is helping with the search for life on Mars

NASA celebrated the successful landing of its Perseverance rover on the surfaces of Mars on Thursday. Now, the real work begins, as the rover begins its search for signs of life on the planet’s surface, with the aid of Western Washington University planetary geologist …

2021-02-22
How a Washington geologist is helping with the search for life on Mars

NASA celebrated the successful landing of its Perseverance rover on the surfaces of Mars on Thursday. Now, the real work begins, as the rover begins its search for signs of life on the planet’s surface, with the aid of Western Washington University planetary geologist …

2021-02-22
'It feels like make-believe;' Bellingham professor playing pivotal part in Mars rover project

As NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars Thursday, researchers at Western Washington University became the eyes of the world.

"It feels surreal," said Melissa Rice, professor of planetary science at Western. "We're asking the big question. Are we alone in the universe?"

Rice…

2021-02-19
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