Amanda L. Nahm
Program Officer
Dr. Amanda L. Nahm is a Program Officer (PO) in the Research and Analysis (R&A) Group in the Planetary Science Division (PSD) and a Program Scientist (PS) in the Exploration Science Strategy Integration Office (ESSIO), both at NASA Headquarters.
Amanda has led several planetary science research programs, including FINESST (Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology) and LDAP (Lunar Data Analysis Program). She has led the selection of the Artemis III Geology Team, participated in the selection of the payloads for Artemis III and IV, and leads or participates in other (lunar) science and Artemis-related calls, including Solar System Science, LMAP (Lunar Mapping Program), the Artemis III Participating Scientist Program, the Analog Activities to Support Artemis Lunar Operations call, and numerous PRISM (Payload and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon) calls.
She is the lead for the Gateway Payload Lunar Working Group, leads citizen science efforts in PSD, and co-manages NASA’s Solar System Exploration Virtual Research Institute (SSERVI). While Deputy Program Scientist for Europa Clipper, she created a new NASA internship called Europa ICONS, which pairs undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students with members of the Europa Clipper science team to perform original scientific research.
Amanda held multiple postdoctoral research positions at educational and research institutions, including the Lunar and Planetary Institute, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), and the University of Idaho. She was an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow at the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) Institute for Planetary Research in Berlin, Germany. Immediately prior to coming to NASA in 2020, Amanda was a part-time, stay-at-home mom and high school science teacher.
Amanda’s area of expertise is planetary tectonics and during her career she has studied numerous solar system bodies with solid surfaces: Mercury, Mars, the Moon, Enceladus, and Europa. In addition to conducting research, Amanda also taught introductory geology courses at UTEP and advised one master’s student at DLR. She is the lead author of the Lunar Tectonics chapter in the New Views of the Moon 2 book and is a contributing author to the Tectonic Landform chapter in Elsevier’s Planetary Tectonism Across the Solar System.
Amanda earned her bachelor’s degree in geology with a minor in astronomy at the University of Colorado in Boulder and her doctorate in geology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her dissertation focused on the geologic and tectonic histories of Mars at the local, regional, and global scales.
During her rare free time, Amanda enjoys cross stitching, eating baked goods (especially those that contain chocolate!), and spending time with her husband and three boys.
