Aria Vitkova

Aria has a PhD in Engineering and Physical Sciences that focused on the development of a miniaturized Raman instrument for the detection of biosignatures on Europa and Icy Worlds. Prior to her PhD, Aria completed a Master’s Degree in Space Systems Engineering. The main focus of her work is instrumentation for planetary exploration, primarily In-situ instrumentation for life detection and mineralogy on Icy Worlds. Her main interest is Raman Spectroscopy and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy but she has also been involved in the development and testing of multiple other instruments. At the University of Oxford, she worked on the MIRMIS instrument for the Comet Interceptor Mission (ESA) and LTM for the Lunar Trailblazer Mission (NASA). At the Space Magnetometer Lab at Imperial College London, she worked on MAGIC, a miniaturized magnetometer for the Lunar Gateway (NASA, ESA) and a fluxgate magnetometer for the Vigil Mission (ESA) and JUICE Mission (ESA).


Education: 
  • PhD in Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, 2023 (Thesis: “The Development of a Miniaturized Raman Instrument for the Detection of Biosignatures on Europa”)
  • Master’s in engineering in Aeronautics and Astronautics/Spacecraft Engineering, University of Southampton, 2018

Research Interests: 

Raman Spectroscopy, Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), Icy Worlds, Astrobiology, Life Detection, Mineralogy, In-Situ Instrumentation for Planetary Exploration, Miniaturization, Magnetometers, Comets, Radiometers


Professional Experience: 
  • University of Oxford – Postdoctoral Researcher (2022-2024)
  • Space Magnetometer Lab, Imperial College London – Space Instrument Engineer (2022-2024)


Aria Vitkova
Address: 
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
Phone: (347)438-6447