Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Maria Camarca has been awarded a $330,000 Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Astronomical Sciences under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049). The award, effective October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2029, supports research and educational activities conducted at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Pasadena, California. The fellowship will fund ground-based astronomical observations utilizing radio interferometry and infrared spectroscopy to investigate the mineralogy, composition, and evolutionary history of the dwarf planet Ceres and the asteroid Hygiea, with particular focus on understanding Ceres' anomalous lack of an associated asteroid family and its potential migration history beyond Neptune's orbit.

The project will deliver a global thermophysical properties map of Ceres based on Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observations and conduct subsurface compositional analysis of newly discovered impact sites on Hygiea. Additionally, the award includes a community engagement component that will develop astronomical outreach programming for residents at elder living facilities adjacent to the Observatory. The research outcomes will establish a methodological framework integrating laboratory mineralogy with ground-based remote sensing techniques applicable to broader asteroid research and will advance understanding of planetary migration effects on small body chemical and thermal evolution. No subawards are planned for this project.