M. Zanetti
Papers
3
Total Citations
80
H-Index
3
About
M. Zanetti is a planetary scientist whose research focuses on lunar impact cratering, surface processes, and the geological context of future exploration missions. Their most influential work, "Origin of discrepancies between crater size-frequency distributions of coeval lunar geologic units via target property contrasts" (2016, 73 citations), addresses a fundamental challenge in planetary chronology: how variations in target material properties—such as porosity, composition, or layering—can skew crater counts and lead to inaccurate age estimates for lunar surfaces. This contribution has important implications for interpreting the timing of geological events across the Moon and other rocky bodies. Zanetti has also been deeply involved in mission planning for lunar sample return, contributing to a series of robotic and human analogue missions (2012) and producing detailed morphologic mapping and traverse planning for a rover-based sample return mission to Schrödinger Basin (2021). Their work at Schrödinger—a 312 km impact structure near the lunar south pole—aligns with NASA’s identification of the basin as a high-priority landing site for future exploration. Through these efforts, Zanetti bridges the gap between remote sensing, crater chronology, and operational mission design, advancing both lunar science and exploration strategy.
Research Focus
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