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About the role
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) funded PhD Studentship on 'Secondary Impact Craters as Absolute Stratigraphic Markers at Landing Sites on Mars and the Moon'
Lead Institution: Natural History Museum (NHM)
Lead Supervisor: Peter Grindrod, NHM
Co-Supervisor: Joseph McNeil, NHM
Co-Supervisor: Katherine Joy, University of Manchester
Co-Supervisor: Gareth Collins, Imperial
The student will be registered at the University of Manchester.
Project Summary:
Impact cratering is ubiquitous across the Solar System. Due to their abundance, impact craters are key to understanding the evolution of planetary surfaces. This project will exploit the vast secondary crater population to investigate a range of features and processes on Mars and the Moon. This work will involve refining the method of primary and secondary crater identification in remote sensing data, before developing a modern workflow of their use as absolute stratigraphic markers. This novel approach will be applied to a range of key science questions on Mars and the Moon. The outcome of this project will be a new, widely applicable, and open method of deriving absolute surface ages.
Project Description:
Stratigraphy is at the heart of understanding the evolution of all solid planetary bodies. Beyond the Earth, despite being arguably the most important factor, time is inherently difficult to determine. The limited number of samples available for detailed geochronological analysis in laboratories severely limits the locations in the Solar System for which we have absolute ages. Instead, planetary science is rooted in applying superposition theory (relative ages) and extrapolated impact crater chronologies (“crater counting”). The only way to derive an age of a planetary surface through remote sensing methods is through crater size-frequency distribution (CSFD) analysis, a powerful, widely applicable, and common technique across the entire Solar System, but one that has been inherently limited to studies of sufficiently large areas.
Figure 1. Examples of secondary craters on Mars and the Moon. (A) Cluster of secondary craters in Oxia Planum, the landing site for the Rosalind Franklin rover. (B) Two populations of secondary craters on the Moon, likely representing separate primary impact events.
Secondary impact craters (“secondaries”) are produced during the excavation stage of the cratering process, from material ejected from the primary crater. A single impact can generate up to 107 secondaries. These secondary craters are often removed as problematic in studies of the age of planetary surfaces. This project will instead exploit the secondary crater population as absolute stratigraphic markers, to make new insights into a range of processes on Mars and the Moon.
This project will refine the method for identifying primary and secondary craters on planetary surfaces, before developing a modern application of secondary impact craters as absolute stratigraphic markers. Three main projects will help develop and apply this approach:
1. Secondary impacts at the Rosalind Franklin rover landing site. The European Space Agency (ESA) Rosalind Franklin rover will launch in 2028. The main rock types for in situ exploration in the landing site in Oxia Planum likely formed almost 4 billion years ago. Understanding the relative and absolute age of all geological units in the landing site is crucial for both mission planning and deciphering the geological history of this area. This project will identify secondary craters in Oxia Planum, and determine a formation age for candidate primary craters. This project will provide the first attempt to bracket the formation age of geological units and processes in the landing site through the use of secondary craters.
2. Quantify secondary cratering at the Artemis III landing sites. Using secondary craters to indirectly date distant features was used successfully during the Apollo missions, to determine the ages of both the Copernicus and Tycho impact events. This project will use a similar theory refined for the possible future Artemis III landing sites in order to (1) identify potential source regions for material brought into the landing sites through impact ejecta processes, to better understand possible chemical mixing processes, and (2) where possible, provide absolute ages to geological units in the exploration areas.
3. Refine numerical models linking primary and secondary craters. Identifying secondary craters, and their associated primaries, is not trivial. At relatively short distances from their primaries, secondaries often show distinctive elements of asymmetry (e.g. depth, crater rim height, ejecta distribution); however, at relatively large distances, these diagnostic features are usually not present. This project will refine methods of identifying secondary craters, and their associated primary craters, using machine-learning crater identification, GIS-based clustering methods, and numerical impact modelling using a shock physics code.
About you
This project will use techniques from different disciplines, providing the student with training in the use of remote sensing data for Mars and the Moon, GIS software (e.g. ArcGIS, ENVI, SocetSet), and numerical modelling and programming languages (e.g. iSALE, Python). The project would suit an enthusiastic individual with a background in geosciences in general, and geology and/or planetary science in particular.
Thriving at the Museum: the way we work
We are proud to work at the Museum and have identified the qualities we all need to embody to reach our shared ambition. This sits alongside the Museum’s values and forms the framework for the way we work.
Find out more here
How to apply
If you are interested in applying, please click below on apply for this job. You must complete the Personal Statement Questions as part of your application (You will see these questions as you go through the application process).
Please also upload a CV.
Closing date: Friday 20 February 2026, 23:59 GMT
Interviews expected: Early March 2026
This is a competitive application process. All applications will be reviewed by the project supervisory team and an academic panel. Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview, which usually lasts 30-60 minutes. As part of the process, shortlisted applicants will also be offered the opportunity to visit the NHM, to meet the wider research group, and tour relevant facilities. Shortlisted applicants will usually find out the outcome a few days after all interviews have been held.
UKRI only covers home fees which increase annually.
If you have any questions please contact the lead supervisor.