Solar System Ambassadors
Jasmine Singh
Jasmine Singh is a recent Purdue graduate and science communicator, having received her Bachelors degree in planetary science with a double major in atmospheric science. She is a graduate student at the University of Texas at San Antonio in the UTSA/SwRI Space Physics graduate program, where her research involves investigating Europa's habitability. Since she was a child, she has been passionate about space, particularly the search for life beyond Earth. She would learn about space every chance she got, often looking at the Moon and stars wondering if anyone else was out there, looking back at her. She is pursuing a career in planetary science, with the hopes of becoming an astrobiologist at NASA, working on astrobiology-focused missions such as Europa Clipper, JUICE, or exoplanet-based habitability research. Throughout her undergraduate career, she has participated in a wide array of research opportunities. In the summer of 2021, she had an internship at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center where she worked on improving the GISS ModelE and ROCKE-3D climate model emulators. During her senior year, she worked under the guidance of Dr. Alexandria Johnson researching how light scatters in exoplanetary atmospheres. Following graduation, she switched gears a bit, working on a geology-based Mars project with Dr. David Minton at Purdue, counting craters in an old Martian region and making a new crater chronology by combining those counts with early solar system N-body simulations. Aside from research, Jasmine is an established online science communicator. Using Twitter as her primary platform, shares the latest NASA news and discoveries, along with general astronomy-oriented content to inform the public and get them excited about the latest frontier of space exploration. She enjoys being a part of the online astronomy community, making many connections, meeting mentors, and getting opportunities as a result. She has been interviewed on podcasts, been featured in online articles, and given virtual talks about astrobiology. Aside from her regular astronomy content, she has also been very open about her journey as a Brown woman in planetary science, advocating for women of color in STEM and becoming a mentor for young Indian women who share the same passions as her. She believes that no one should be held back from pursuing their passions and that science is for everyone.