Author: Dr. Michael Zanetti

Dr. Michael Zanetti

Dr. Michael Zanetti is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Originally from Southington, Connecticut, Dr. Zanetti received his B.Sc. from Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) in 2006, a M.Sc. from the Institut für Planetologie at the Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster (WWU-M) and his Ph.D. at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. Dr. Zanetti joined the planetary science group at Marshall Space Flight Center in 2018, where he continues is research in mobile lidar scanning to facilitate terrestrial and planetary geomorphologic research.
04.27.2018

Comparative Planetology

Lidar Unveils Similarities of Earth and Mars

It has been known since the NASA Viking orbiters and landers of the 1970s that the surface of Mars is similar to Earth in many ways. Mars has evidence of rivers, outwash channels, and glacial features indicating an important role for water throughout its geologic history. However, Mars is not Earth. Despite geomorphologic similarity, the underlying processes that shaped Mars’ landscape may be quite different between the planets.