{"id":27792,"date":"2025-04-01T09:10:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T01:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?p=27792"},"modified":"2025-04-02T13:55:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T05:55:48","slug":"rock-star-scientist-aims-for-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/rock-star-scientist-aims-for-the-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock star scientist aims for the Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Professor Gretchen Benedix is unlocking the secrets of our universe one space rock at a time.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curtin University\u2019s Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research has always been intrigued by space, but like the rocks she studies, she kind of crash-landed into planetary science.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI started out as a psychology major because it seemed like the right path for me at the time. But I\u2019ve always had questions about why we\u2019re here and how we fit into the solar system. I just didn\u2019t realise I could turn this interest into a career,\u201d Professor Benedix said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, I dabbled in some astronomy classes. And then physics. And before I knew it, I was firing hydrogen ions at rock samples in a lab!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This detour has led to a stellar career, taking her from hunting for meteorites in Antarctica to being the first to map the entire surface of Mars with AI. She even has an asteroid named after her that\u2019s currently orbiting somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo:<\/strong> A match made in space. Professor Benedix\u2019s asteroid orbiting alongside her partner Professor Phil Bland\u2019s asteroid.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Space rocks are cool\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Professor Benedix, there\u2019s nothing more exciting than tracking down a rock that\u2019s travelled across the cosmos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as part of Curtin\u2019s Desert Fireball Network, she gets to do just that. It\u2019s one of the reasons she relocated to Australia with her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAustralia is a meteorite hunter\u2019s dream,\u201d Professor Benedix said. \u201cIt\u2019s vast, flat and has very little vegetation for space rocks to hide, especially out in the Nullarbor Plain where our camera network is set up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe cameras take images of the sky every night and alert us when a piece of space rock has landed on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen I come in and figure out where it\u2019s from and what it can tell us. And they can tell us a lot.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Benedix\u2019s research on space rocks has helped us better understand the very building blocks of our solar system and how its evolution continues to shape Earth. By analysing meteorites and asteroid compositions, she is piecing together how our planets form and evolve.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Earth isn\u2019t an isolated system. It\u2019s part of this huge cosmic network that is constantly interacting with asteroids, meteorites, and space debris,\u201d Professor Benedix said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnderstanding those interactions helps us figure out where we came from and what might happen to us in the future.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know asteroids hit Earth all the time, and while most are tiny and harmless, some could be real trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cIt\u2019s not Hollywood-style disaster stuff, but having the right data means we can actually prepare for potential impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Automating crater detection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But her research isn\u2019t just about looking at what\u2019s coming towards Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Benedix\u2019s research has helped inform the world\u2019s largest Mars crater database using a machine learning algorithm.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo:<\/strong> John Fairweather, Konstantinos Servis, Dr Anthony Lagain and Professor Benedix standing in front of a visualisation of the Mars Crater database at the HIVE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By training the algorithm to recognise craters using images, Professor Benedix and her team have been able to map more than ninety million impact craters on the red planet. They\u2019ve even been able to identify the origin of \u2018Black Beauty\u2019 \u2013 the most famous Martian meteorite to land on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve automated what used to be a painstakingly manual process down to seconds.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNobody\u2019s ever done this at this scale before,\u201d Professor Benedix said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith this algorithm, we\u2019ve started to unravel the geological history of Mars and, one day this dataset might help answer questions like when water last flowed on the surface of Mars. It\u2019s data that could even help NASA on their next Mars mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can also use it to understand how other planetary surfaces evolve over time, including Earth\u2019s and even the Moon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, who doesn\u2019t want to know more about the Moon?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promoting STEM  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she\u2019s not on a hunt for space rocks, Professor Benedix dedicates her time to promoting STEM through science outreach programs. But she\u2019ll admit \u2013 she has a particular affinity towards planetary sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo:<\/strong> Professor Benedix standing in front of the Mundrabilla iron meteorite on display at the WA Museum. It\u2019s one of the samples she worked on for her PhD. \u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know there are kids out there who have burning questions about our place in the universe, just as I had, and I want them to feed their curiosity and also to know there\u2019s a career to be made of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she balances research, leadership, and mentoring, one thing remains constant\u2014her love for finding answers to big questions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s uncovering the secrets of Mars or helping the next generation of scientists find their passion, she\u2019s proof that sometimes the best discoveries come from taking the scenic \u2013 or rather \u2013 the cosmic route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Benedix was appointed Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research last year after being in the role on an interim basis since June 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– – –<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This piece was featured in Impact Focus<\/em><\/a> \u2013 a quarterly newsletter bringing you the latest in Curtin research. Sign up here<\/a> to get it delivered straight to your inbox!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Professor Gretchen Benedix is unlocking the secrets of our universe one space rock at a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4451,"featured_media":27799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"8313,7154,7735,6426,8039,6941","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":4,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,284],"tags":[1066],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-27792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","category-science-and-engineering","tag-sstc"],"acf":{"post_components":false,"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"","qualification":"","link":"","description":"","faculty":""}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GB-in-Antarctica-1000x500.jpeg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Curtin","last_name":"University","display_name":"Curtin University"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 06:12:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4451"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27792"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=27792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}