Planetary science embodies a large and broad set of interests. There is growing discussion in public discourse about potential colonization and/or mining of other planets and exterrestrial objects. At the same time, constraining the formation history and operation, or "life cycle", of other planets helps us to understand our own unique world. Remote observations provide key insights into both aspects. Yet, to help decipher these observations, additional "hands-on" constraints are needed. Natural samples can help to pin the composition of other bodies. These are, however, extremely difficult to acquire and sparse in availability, being dominantly limited to meteorite samples. Experiments, computational simulations, and models provide other avenues in which we can investigate other worlds including their early formation, differentiation, and current operation.
For prospective students, this will be interesting if you are drawn to the early formation history of planets, their deep (and inaccessible) interiors, and/or their unique mineralogic/petrologic phenomena.Â