Tara Hayden

Research Interests

Lunar Geological Diversity and Evolution, Evolution of the Moon, Lunar Chronology, Planetary Impact Cratering, Meteorites, Volatiles in the Inner Solar System, Early Lunar History

Current Research

Tara currently works as a Postdoctoral Associate with Gordon Osinski on lunar geoscience with a focus on impact cratering. Tara works with lunar samples (both pristine Apollo and lunar meteorite samples) and lunar analogues from the Kamestastin Impact Crater in Labrador, Canada, examining the petrography of lithic, mineral, and melt rock clasts to better understand how lunar impact craters contribute to the lunar geological record and reconstruct lunar crater stratigraphy using melt rocks.

Past Research

Tara’s PhD work involved the analysis of lunar brecciated meteorites to constrain the volatile inventory of the Moon to a greater extent than can be achieved looking primarily at pristine samples returned from a restricted geographical area on the nearside of the Moon by the Apollo missions. Lunar meteorites can be ejected from anywhere on the lunar surface and can, therefore, provide greater context on the nature of volatiles across the entire Moon.

Education:

  • PhD, Planetary Science, The Open University, UK (2018–2022) — thesis titled “Assessing the volatile inventory and history of the Moon using lunar meteorites”
  • BSc, Earth Science, University of Glasgow (2014–2018)

Technical Experience:

  • Optical Microscopy
  • Scanning Electron Microscopy (electron dispersive spectroscopy, cathodoluminescence, and electron backscatter diffraction)
  • Electron Probe Microanalysis (wave dispersive spectroscopy)
  • Nano Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (NanoSIMS) — in imaging and multi-collection mode
  • Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS)
  • X-ray Fluorescence
  • UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy
  • Drone Piloting
  • ArcGIS for planetary surface mapping

Awards

      • 2022 Ogden Trust Outreach — Individual Award
      • Sir Alwyn Williams Prize 2016–2017 (University of Glasgow)
      • J. W. Gregory Prize 2014–2015 (University of Glasgow)

Academic Service

      • Participated in organization for British Planetary Science Conference 2022
      • Co-chair at European Geophysical Union General Assembly 2021, session titled “Understanding Planetary crusts and mantles: Recent advances in planetary sciences”

Publications

      • Hayden, T. S., Joy, K. H., Barrett, T. J. (2022) Breccia. In Cudnik, B. (Eds) Encyclopaedia of Lunar Science. Springer.
      • Hayden, T S., Barrett, T. J., Anand, M., Whitehouse, M. J., Jeon, H. J., Zhao, X., Franchi, I. A. (2024) Detection of apatite in ferroan anorthosite indicative of a volatile-rich early lunar crust. Nature Astronomy 8, 439-444.

Conferences

  • Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2024) – poster presentation: ‘Textural and Geochemical Diversity of Impact Melt Clasts in Apollo 16 Sample 67015’
  • Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2024) — oral presentation: ‘First Detection of Apatite in Ferroan Anorthosite Reveals a Volatile-Rich Early Lunar Crust’
  • NASA Exploration Science Forum (2023) — poster presentation: ‘Geochemical Diversity of Lunar Meteorite Touat 005’
  • Canadian Lunar Workshop (2023) — poster presentation: ‘Volatile Distribution and Isotopic Composition in Brecciated Lunar Meteorites’
  • Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2022) — oral presentation: ‘Volatile Inventory of Lunar Meteorites from the Dominion Range’; poster presentation: ‘Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Geochronology of Lunar Meteorites from the Dominion Range, and their Pairing Relationships’
  • European Geophysical Union General Assembly (2021) — co-chair for session: ‘Understanding planetary crusts and mantles: Recent advances in planetary sciences’.
  • Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2021) — oral presentation: ‘Chlorine and Hydrogen in Brecciated Lunar Meteorites: Implications for Lunar Volatile History’.
  • European Lunar Symposium (2020) — oral presentation: ‘Chlorine in brecciated lunar meteorite NWA 12593: Implications for Lunar Volatile History’.
  • European Lunar Symposium (2019) — poster presentation: ‘Petrography and Mineralogy of igneous clasts in lunar meteorite NWA 11228’.

Meteorite Classifications

  • Northwest Africa 12592 — Lunar fragmental breccia. In Gattacceca et al. (2020) The Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 108. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 55(5), 1146-1150.
  • Northwest Africa 12593 — Lunar fragmental breccia. In Gattacceca et al. (2020) The Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 108. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 55(5), 1146-1150.
  • Northwest Africa 12980 — Lunar melt breccia. In Gattacceca et al. (2020) The Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 108. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 55(5), 1146-1150.
  • Northwest Africa 12997 — Lunar troctolite. In Gattacceca et al. (2020) The Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 108. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 55(5), 1146-1150.
  • Northwest Africa 13918 — Eucrite. In Gattacceca et al. (2022) The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 110. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 57(11), 2102–2105.
  • Northwest Africa 14257 — Eucrite. In Gattacceca et al. (2022) The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 110. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 57(11), 2102–2105.
  • Arabian Peninsula 008 — Lunar fragmental breccia. In Gattacceca et al. (2020) The Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 108. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 55(5), 1146-1150.

Scientific Outreach Experience

  • Invited Research Talks (Natural History Museum, University of Glasgow)
  • Invited public talk about Lunar Geology (UK Space Centre, Leicester: Nov 2019) for the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 12
  • Live television and radio interviews (BBC Look East, BBC News 24, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC 5 Live: July 2019) for the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing
  • Live radio interviews (CBC London and CBC Windsor: Jan 2024) for the publication of my article in Nature Astronomy
  • Coordinator and participant of Royal Society Summer of Science Exhibition “Living on the Moon” (July 2019)
  • Open University “Moon Night” 2018–2020, 2022