Sara Samantha Russell (born 1966) is a professor of planetary sciences and leader of the Planetary Materials Group at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

. She is a Fellow of the Meteoritical Society and of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

Early life and education

Russell was captivated by the Moon landing as a child. She studied at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where she was introduced to microanalysis by Jim Long. She had started studying

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

, but heard that geologists host the best parties, so switched courses. She was inspired to complete a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

degree in geology after attending a lecture by

Colin Pillinger Colin Trevor Pillinger, (; 9 May 1943 – 7 May 2014) was an English planetary scientist. He was a founding member of the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute at Open University in Milton Keynes, he was also the principal inves ...

, and moved to the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

. She won the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

Keith Runcorn Prize for the best British doctoral thesis in

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

in 1993.

Career

Russell completed postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology and

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. She joined the Natural History Museum in 1998, where she studied protostars and planets. In 2000 she edited the collection Protostars and Planets IV. Russell is leader of the micrometeorite and

meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...

collection at the

. She has been on three expeditions to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

searching for meteorites. She has been awarded the Antarctica Service Medal. She was awarded a

Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to suppo ...

grant in 2005. In 2006 she studied the meteorites in the early solar system and the protoplanetary disc. On behalf of the Natural History Museum, Russell was part of the team which arranged the acquisition of the Ivuna meteorite in 2008. In 2009 she published the book ''Meteorite'' with Caroline Smith and Gretchen Benedix. She won the Geological Society of London

Bigsby Medal The Bigsby Medal is a medal of the Geological Society of London established by John Jeremiah Bigsby. It is awarded for the study of American geology. Recipients SourcThe Geological Society See also * List of geology awards * Prizes named after ...

in 2010. In 2011 Russell took part in an exhibition at the

Royal Observatory, Greenwich The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in ...

. She is a science team member of OSIRIS-REx. She was the initial point of contact in the process by which the

Tissint meteorite The Tissint meteorite is a Martian meteorite that fell in Tata Province in the Guelmim-Es Semara region of Morocco on July 18, 2011. Tissint is the fifth Martian meteorite that people have witnessed falling to Earth, and the first since 1962. Piece ...

came to be acquired by the Natural History Museum in 2012. In 2014 she studied Moon rocks brought back by the

Apollo Astronauts As part of the Apollo program by NASA, 24 astronauts flew 9 missions to the Moon between December 1968 and December 1972. During six successful two-man landing missions, 12 men walked on the lunar surface, six of whom drove Lunar Roving Vehicl ...

, finding that the lunar crust did not form from a common source. Russell has studied the origin of water in the inner

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

with Monica Grady. She published ''Chondrules'' in 2018, a book which considers the silicate grains that form in the protoplanetary disk. The eponymous asteroid 5497 Sararussell was named after her. Russell is an advocate for diversity in science.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Sara 1966 births Employees of the Natural History Museum, London Alumni of the University of Cambridge Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the Open University California Institute of Technology people Smithsonian Institution people Meteorite researchers British women scientists British geologists Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Planetary scientists Women planetary scientists