Astrobiologist of the Month

RAISSA ESTRELA
“I’m a JPL Postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and I'm interested in understanding habitability of exoplanets by detecting and characterizing their atmospheres. I use the Hubble Space Telescope observations to look for molecular features in the atmospheres of other worlds, and I study the evolution of their atmospheres due to atmospheric escape through time.  When I’m not doing science, I’m engaged with several volunteer projects. I’m part of the volunteer team at Farm Sanctuary, a sanctuary for animals rescued from the abuse of factory farms and I participate in the Food Not Bombs collective by cooking bi-weekly healthy vegan meals that are provided for free for houseless people in Los Angeles.”

Position
JPL Postdoctoral Fellow

Career Pathway
I first started in an Ecology undergraduate program because I was very passionate about nature and in addressing climate change. I was also fascinated about astrobiology and the search for life in the universe. So, during that time, I got involved in an astrobiology project to analyze the behavior of plants sent in a rocket to experience a microgravity environment. In parallel, I contacted professors from the Department of Physics to check if there was any opportunity of projects on astrobiology and they offered me to participate in a research project on exoplanets. My involvement with the physics Department evolved and made me decide to migrate to the undergraduate program in Physics.

After I graduated in Physics, I moved to São Paulo (Brazil), where I did my Masters and a PhD in Sciences and Geospace Applications at the same institution. My PhD was very broad and involved the analysis of the impact of stellar activity (e.g., flares) on habitability of exoplanets, the study of the evolution of exoplanets atmospheres and the detection and characterization of exoplanets atmospheres using space telescopes.

Next, I became a postdoctoral fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I continued my research in exoplanets atmospheres.

Research Topics
Exoplanets Atmospheres (Transmission Spectroscopy); Atmospheric Evolution; Exoplanets Habitability

Why did you decide to become an Astrobiologist?
Since a very young age I had interest in multiple fields. I was very intrigued by the mysteries of the universe, and the search for life out there was definitely one of them. I was also concerned about the environmental catastrophe that our planet is facing due to climate changes. After reading Carl Sagan’s books and watching his TV series Cosmos, I understood that these two topics do not go separately. By studying other worlds and looking for life elsewhere, we understand the importance of preserving and respecting the life in our own planet. The exoplanets field have shown that there are several hostile environments for life, also, in our own Solar System, we have examples of planets that became hostile worlds like Venus. Our own home, the “pale blue dot” can also quickly become not hospitable for several lifeforms (including humans) if we keep changing its atmosphere. In addition to that, the challenges associated to find life out there and the complexities of understanding life on Earth are a reminder on how unique the life in our planet is. All these connections made me sure that I wanted to be an astrobiologist. 

If your lab/research group had a nickname, what would it be?
E.T (Extraterrestrial search Team)

Are you accepting students?
Undergraduate students