Priya Patel
Education
- Undergraduate: Physics (BSc - 2013)
At Imperial College London
​
- Masters: Space Sciences & Engineering (MSc - 2017)
University College London
​
- PhD: Planetary Sciences (PhD - 2024)
University College London
Employment
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratroy
From 2022 to 2023, I was based at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as a visiting research student. The research conducted at JPL was part of my PhD. I acquired funding from the STFC LTA program to fund my time at JPL.
​
In 2016, I also interned at JPL between my undergraduate and masters. I worked on studying the Martian Polar Vortex using the Mars Climate Sounder instrument onboard the Mars Reconainance Orbiter (MRO).
​
- European Space Agency
From 2017 to 2019 I worked at the European Space Agency as a Systems Engineer (Young Graduate Traineeship Program). I was based at the Technical Center of ESA, ESTEC, in the Netherlands.
Mission Experiences
Mission Operations: 2021– 2024
M2020 Science Operations Team
-
Mars2020 Atmospheric Representative - leading all cloud-related activities on the Perseverance Rover
-
MastCam-Z Instrument Operations - Geo s-PUL
​
Mission Concepts: 2017-2019
ESA Future Missions Office Team
-
Laser Interferometry Space Antenna (LISA) Phase 0/A team
-
Quantum Physics Platform (QPPF) concepts design team
-
Ice giants mission - Orbital design team
More
I was born in India, grew up in the UK and have lived in 4 countries so far. I speak 4 languages and take pride in being multicultural.
​
My hobbies include mountaineering, scuba diving, swimming and dancing. I have been doing Indian Classical dance since the age of 7. I also training for acquiring a private pilot license!
​