Ottaviano Ruesch
Ottaviano Ruesch
planetsahead

planetary geologist

Ottaviano Ruesch

precious space

Precious Space is a research group started up with the recognition that natural materials present in space, in particular water ice and organic matter, are precious from a scientific perspective as well as from an exploration point of view. 

The goal of the team is to determine the preservation of these materials on planetary surfaces and sub-surfaces. The core competence is the understanding of the nature and evolution of regolith, i.e., the hosting layer of the materials, using remote sensing observations, numerical modelling and laboratory simulations.

The Precious Space team, i.e., Rachael Marshal, Dr. Markus Patzek, Dr. Ottaviano Ruesch, is supported since 2020 by the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The host institution is the Institut für Planetologie at the Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster, Germany. Highlights of our research are presented at the Precious Space page.

In our laboratory we are simulating diurnal temperature variations on airless planetary surfaces from temperatures less than 180 K to more than 400 K in a high vacuum chamber using meteorite samples.

Color-coded temperature of Allende meteorite samples from <200 K (blue) to 375 K (red) with a rate of 0.7 K/min. The samples show spatially heterogeneous temperatures possibly due to different components. More at the Precious Space page.

 

PErsonal research

Scientific research is carried out in the field of planetary science, with particular interest in the nature and evolution of the solid surfaces of Solar System objects. The investigations use remote sensing observations by spacecraft. Most of my research work is and has been based on the following space missions and scientific payload:

  • Mars Express / OMEGA and the investigations of chlorides and phyllosilicates

  • Dawn / FC and VIR at asteroid Vesta and the investigations of olivine-rich geologic materials

  • Dawn / FC and VIR at dwarf planet Ceres and the investigations of cryovolcanism

  • ExoMars / CLUPI for future microscale observations of the martian surface

research TECHNIQUES

 
Geologic map of a quadrangle on asteroid Vesta.

Geologic map of a quadrangle on asteroid Vesta.

Planetary geology

This field exploits primarily optical imagery and 3-D topographic models. Geomorphology, morphometry and stratigraphic relationship are used to produce geologic maps and inform on the type of processes that affected the surface, like volcanism, tectonism, or fluvial. Timing of the events can be determined with impact crater size-frequency distribution measurements or with rocks size-frequency distribution measurements coupled to the flux of meteoroid bombardment.

Near-infrared spectrum of an HED meteorite.

Near-infrared spectrum of an HED meteorite.

Near-Infrared mapping spectroscopy of planetary surfaces

This method enables us to characterize the mineralogy of planetary surfaces by analyzing reflected light. Absorption bands of rock-forming minerals, like pyroxene, olivine, phyllosilicates and carbonates can be detected, quantified and mapped across a planetary object. This tell us about how rocks formed, for example by magmatic processes, volcanism or aqueous alteration.

Diagram of an infrared fourier transform spectrometer with a sample hosted in a vacuum chamber.

Diagram of an infrared fourier transform spectrometer with a sample hosted in a vacuum chamber.

Laboratory near-infrared spectroscopy of analogues material

Near-Infrared measurements of analogue materials, such as meteorites, are performed in the laboratory under controlled conditions to provide a ground truth for measurements in space. A variety of aspects affecting the near-infrared properties of a material can be investigated. I have been studying the effects of observation geometry, grain size and mineralogy.

space instruments as observational tools

Planetary surfaces can be sensed with a variety of instruments. These instruments are designed such that they can operate in the harsh vacuum environment of space, namely under strong temperature variation and high energy radiation. Tight constraints in terms of the instrument mass, volume and power consumption are set by the spacecraft and mission. A typical optical camera is composed of several sub-systems working in the following way. Irradiance from the target surface is collimated by a telescope, either in a refractive or reflective configuration, into a detector. The detector is operated by the proximity electronics where the signal is amplified and converted to a digital signal.  Pixel data are transferred to a data processing unit where image data is acquired, stored, compressed and processed. The unit executes image sequences, performs instrument control and monitoring, acquires housekeeping data and handles telecommanding and telemetry. The necessary power is controlled by a power converter unit. A mechanical control unit handles mechanism such as a band-pass filter wheel. Temperature sensor and heaters are used to maintain the instrument within appropriate thermal conditions for the functioning of the components. The scientific performance of the system during flight is tested with a calibration lamp inside the instrument.

The image shows the Framing Camera built and operated by Max-Planck-Institut / Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt / TU Braunschweig that flew onboard the Dawn mission. From top to bottom: door mechanism, baffle, refractive system (cyan), filter wheel, and electronic box. The camera is 42 cm high, has a mass of 5.5 Kg, and a power consumption in nominal operation of 17 W. The refractive system has a F-number of 7.5, focal length 150 mm, and projects a field of view of 5x5 deg into a frame transfer 1024x1024 pixels CCD.

RECENT peer-reviewed publications

2024

  • Rüsch, O., Hess, M., Wöhler, C., Bickel, V. T., Marshal, R. M., Patzek, M., Huybrighs, H. L. F., (2024), Discovery of a dust sorting process on boulders near the Reiner Gamma swirl on the Moon. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 129, e2023JE007910. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JE0079102023

  • Patzek, M., Rüsch, O., & Molaro, J. L. (2024). On the response of chondrites to diurnal temperature change—Experimental simulation of asteroidal surface conditions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 129, e2023JE007944.2022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JE007944

other publications

POSITIONS

since 2019: Head of junior research group at the

Institut für Planetologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany.

2017 – 2019 : ESA Research Fellow at the

ESA European Space Research and Technology Center, Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

2015 – 2017: NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at the

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.

 

Education

Institut für Planetologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany.

2011 – 2014: PhD (PhD Thesis available here)

Planetary Sciences at the Paris Sud 11 University, Orsay, France.

2009 – 2011: MSc

Geology at the University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.

2006 – 2009: BSc

Contact

Email: ottaviano.ruEsch (at) uni-muenster.de

phone: +49 251 83 39 173

 

Personal page

Some of my artwork will soon be published here.