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Joshua Bandfield

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Joshua Bandfield
Born1974
DiedJune 15, 2019(2019-06-15) (aged 45)
Known forCold spot
Bandfield crater
Academic background
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Barbara (BS)
Arizona State University (PhD)
ThesisIsolation and characterization of Martian atmospheric constituents and surface lithologies using thermal infrared spectroscopy[1] (2000)
Phil Christensen
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Washington
Space Science Institute
Main interests

Joshua L. Bandfield (1974 – June 2019) was an American planetary scientist.[2] He was a co-investigator for the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter and the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE) on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2009.[2][3]

Bandfield discovered lunar cold spots using DLRE data, identifying over 2,000 on the moon’s surface.[4][5] On July 8, 2022, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) named Bandfield Crater, a prominent cold spot, in his honor.[6]

Biography

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Bandfield earned a Bachelor of Science in geology and Earth system science from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1996.[3] He attended Arizona State University (ASU), earning a doctorate in geology under Phil Christensen in 2000. In his thesis, he used infrared spectroscopy data to characterize the Martian surface lithology and atmosphere composition.[7][8][failed verification]

After graduating, Bandfield joined NASA as a postdoctoral researcher at Ames Research Center in 2000 followed by Goddard Space Flight Center until 2002.[3] He returned to ASU as a principal research specialist on the Mars Space Flight Facility and taught at nearby Chandler–Gilbert Community College for three years. At ASU, he was involved with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter aerobraking advisory group and aided in landing site characterization for Mars Scout Phoenix.[9][3] Bandfield also worked on the Mars Exploration Rover[3] and the thermal emission spectrometer on the Mars Global Surveyor and 2001 Mars Odyssey.[10][11][12][13]

In 2008, he became a research associate professor at the University of Washington. Bandfield was a co-investigator on the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars climate sounder on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.[2][14] Using DLRE data, Bandfield discovered more than 2,000 young lunar craters (0.1–1 Mya) with abnormally cold surface temperatures (3–10 Kelvin cooler than surrounding regolith) extending past their crater rims.[4][15] [16]

Bandfield was appointed a senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado in 2013.[17][18] He was a spacecraft operator for OSIRIS-REx.[3] He passed away unexpectedly in June of 2019, aged 45.[2][19]

On July 8, 2022, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) named a 1 km (0.62 mi) diameter lunar crater southwest of Mare Smythii, one of the most prominent cold spots on the moon, Bandfield Crater in his honor.[6]

References

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  1. ↑ "Bandfield CV" (PDF). Space Science Institute. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "SSI - In Memoriam". Space Science Institute. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Joshua L. Bandfield Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Space Science Institute. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "New Lunar Crater Named after Diviner team member Joshua Bandfield". Diviner. UCLA. July 20, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  5. ↑ Glotch, Timothy (October 11, 2021). "THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF JOSHUA BANDFIELD TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MARS, THE MOON, AND SMALL BODIES". Geological Society of America. 78 (1). GSA. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Planetary Names". planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  7. ↑ New Scientist and Science Journal. IPC Magazines. 2004. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  8. ↑ Elkins-Tanton, Linda T.; Day, Trevor (2006). Mars. Infobase Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4381-0726-4. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Sharp Views Show Ground Ice on Mars Is Patchy and Variable". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). May 2, 2007. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  10. ↑ Bandfield, Joshua L.; Glotch, Timothy D.; Christensen, Philip R. (August 22, 2003). "Spectroscopic Identification of Carbonate Minerals in the Martian Dust". Science. 301 (5636): 1084–1087. Bibcode:2003Sci...301.1084B. doi:10.1126/science.1088054. PMID 12934004. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  11. ↑ Bishop, Janice L.; III, James F. Bell; Bell, Jim; Moersch, Jeffrey E. (November 28, 2019). Remote Compositional Analysis: Techniques for Understanding Spectroscopy, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry of Planetary Surfaces. Cambridge University Press. p. 334. ISBN 978-1-107-18620-0. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  12. ↑ Godwin, Robert (2004). Mars: The NASA Mission Reports. Apogee Books. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-894959-05-6. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Martian Moon Sprang from Impact on Home Planet". news.stonybrookmedicine.edu. Stony Brook University. October 1, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  14. ↑ Glotch, Timothy D.; Bandfield, Joshua L.; Lucey, Paul G.; Hayne, Paul O.; Greenhagen, Benjamin T.; Arnold, Jessica A.; Ghent, Rebecca R.; Paige, David A. (February 4, 2015). "Formation of lunar swirls by magnetic field standoff of the solar wind". Nature Communications. 6 (1): 6189. Bibcode:2015NatCo...6.6189G. doi:10.1038/ncomms7189. ISSN 2041-1723. PMID 25650225. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  15. ↑ Gallinger, Cailin L.; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Neish, Catherine D.; Powell, Tyler M.; Elder, Catherine M.; Ghent, Rebecca R.; Hayne, Paul O.; Paige, David A. (November 1, 2024). "Thermophysical Diversity of Young Lunar Crater Ejecta Revealed with LRO Diviner Observations". The Planetary Science Journal. 5 (11): 261. Bibcode:2024PSJ.....5..261G. doi:10.3847/PSJ/ad84e3. ISSN 2632-3338.
  16. ↑ Vasavada, Ashwin R.; Bandfield, Joshua L.; Greenhagen, Benjamin T.; Hayne, Paul O.; Siegler, Matthew A.; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Paige, David A. (December 2012). "Lunar equatorial surface temperatures and regolith properties from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 117 (E12) 2011JE003987. Bibcode:2012JGRE..117.0H18V. doi:10.1029/2011JE003987. ISSN 0148-0227. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  17. ↑ Zubritsky, Elizabeth (February 23, 2018). "On second thought, the Moon's water may be widespread and immobile". American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  18. ↑ Sokol, Joshua (January 17, 2019). "Asteroid Rate Jumped in Solar System's Past". Quanta Magazine. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Dedication" (PDF). Mineralogical Society of America. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
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