Lizeth Magaña

Dr. Lizeth Magaña is a planetary scientist specializing in surface studies and remote sensing across ultraviolet to radar wavelengths. Her research integrates orbital data analysis, laboratory experiments, and field analog studies to investigate surface processes, with a focus on the Moon and Titan. Her current research areas include lunar volatile detection within permanently shadowed regions, laboratory-based regolith studies, and Titan geomorphology.

She currently leads volatile science for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) as the Volatiles Theme Lead, and is a co-investigator on the LRO Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) instrument and the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) Interdisciplinary Consortium for Evaluating Volatile Origins (ICE Five-O) team. She is also a member of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) Science Working Group.

Dr. Magaña manages the Planetary Surface Texture Lab (PSTL) at APL, where she conducts photometric and polarimetric studies of regolith properties. She is also actively involved in mission development, serving as deputy project scientist for a NASA New Frontiers 5 mission concept and a Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) lunar mission.