Athena Coustenis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Athena Coustenis
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Dr. Athena Coustenis, October 2020
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| Born | 1961 |
| Citizenship | French, Greek - dual citizenship. |
| Education | Pierre and Marie Curie University (MS, PhD), HDR University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle (MA) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics Planetary science |
Athena Coustenis is a super smart scientist who studies space! She's an astrophysicist and planetologist. This means she learns all about planets and stars. Dr. Coustenis works at the Paris Observatory in France. She helps with big space missions for the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. She's especially interested in giant planets like Saturn and Jupiter, and their moons. Many people think she's the top expert on Saturn's moon, Titan.
Growing Up and Learning
Athena Coustenis was born in Athens, Kingdom of Greece, in 1961. She later moved to Paris, France. There, she earned a master's degree in astrophysics and space techniques. This was at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in 1986. She also got a master's degree in English literature in 1987.
In 1989, she finished her PhD. Her special project was about Titan's atmosphere. She studied it using information from the Voyager spacecraft. She continued her advanced studies at the same university.
Her Amazing Career
Since 2008, Athena Coustenis has been a research director. She works for the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). Her office is at the LESIA lab in the Paris Observatory.
She is part of many important science groups. For example, she leads the COSPAR Panel on Planetary Protection. This group makes sure we protect other planets from germs from Earth. She also helps guide space research for the French space agency.
Dr. Coustenis has held many leadership roles. She was the head of a committee for human spaceflight at ESA. She also led groups for Earth sciences and solar system exploration. She helps guide big decisions in space science.
What She Researches
Dr. Coustenis uses telescopes on Earth and in space. She studies objects in our Solar System. She focuses on the moons of giant planets like Saturn and Jupiter. She also studies exoplanets, which are planets outside our Solar System.
A big part of her work is looking for places where life could exist. This is called astrobiology. She also compares different planets. This helps us understand how our own planet, Earth, changes over time.
She was involved in the famous Cassini/Huygens mission. This mission explored Saturn and its moon Titan. She helped with three of the science tools on board. Now, she helps plan future space missions for ESA. She is also working on new missions. These include JUICE, which will go to Jupiter, and ARIEL, which will study exoplanets.
Awards and Honors
Athena Coustenis has received many special awards for her work:
- She was given the Legion of Honour by France. This is a very high award.
- She won the Jean Dominique Cassini Medal in 2023.
- NASA gave her several Group Achievement Awards. These were for her work on the Cassini mission's tools.
- The European Space Agency (ESA) also gave her an award. It was for her great help with the Huygens Probe.
- In 2014, she received the Harold Masursky award. This was from the American Astronomical Society.
- She is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics.
- A small asteroid was named after her! It's called 18101 Coustenis. It was named to honor her amazing contributions to science.
