Dr. Jordan D Kendall

Dr. Jordan D Kendall

  • RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
  • 301.614.6498
  • NASA/GSFC
  • Mail Code: 698
  • Greenbelt , MD 20771
  • Employer: UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE CO
  • Brief Bio

    Dr. Kendall studies lunar impact cratering and the formation of planetary bodies using the latest cutting-edge numerical modeling techniques. Using hypervelocity impact modeling, Dr. Kendall is able to reconstruction the lunar surface through ejecta layering and help determine the provenance of the lunar surface. Additionally, Dr. Kendall studies the ejecta near Apollo and Luna landing sites, cratering near future Artemis and CLPS missions, and ejecta and dust created by lunar landers/modules and crashes on the lunar surface.

    Research Interests

    Impact cratering

    Modeling lunar ejecta from large and small impacts on the lunar surface, basin formation, mantle and crust formation, regolith layering and forensic modeling. Supporting the Lunar Reconnaissance Mission and helping determine possible landing locations for future Moon missions.

    Current Projects

    Ejecta from the Moon's South Pole-Aitken basin-forming impact: Finding new perspectives through 3D numerical modeling

    Modeling the Moon's regolith at Shackleton Crater for future missions

    Secondary craters at the Apollo 17 landing site (Taurus-Littrow Valley).

    Using modeling techniques and the latest LRO images to determine the source and timing of primary and secondary craters within the Taurus-Littrow Valley and near where Apollo 17 retrieved lunar samples.

    Positions/Employment

    10/2017 - 10/2021

    Post-doctoral Research Associate

    University of Maryland Baltimore County, Center for Space Sciences and Technology, Baltimore, MD
    10/2021 - Present

    Assistant Research Scientist

    University of Maryland Baltimore County, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

    Education

    PhD - December 2016 - Purdue University, Department of Physics and Astronomy

    BSc - 2009 - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Physics and Mathematics

    Selected Publications

    Refereed

    Moriarty, D. P., R. N. Watkins, S. N. Valencia, et al. J. D. Kendall, A. J. Evans, and N. E. Petro. 2020. "Evidence for a Stratified Upper Mantle Preserved within the South Pole – Aitken Basin." Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets, (In Press) [10.1029/2020JE006589]

    James, P. B., D. E. Smith, P. K. Byrne, et al. J. D. Kendall, H. J. Melosh, and M. T. Zuber. 2019. "Deep Structure of the Lunar South Pole‐Aitken Basin." Geophysical Research Letters, 46 (10): 5100-5106 [10.1029/2019gl082252]

    Melosh, H., J. Kendall, B. Horgan, et al. B. Johnson, T. Bowling, P. Lucey, and G. Taylor. 2017. "South Pole–Aitken basin ejecta reveal the Moon’s upper mantle." Geology, 45 (12): 1063-1066 [10.1130/g39375.1]

    Kendall, J. D., and H. Melosh. 2016. "Differentiated planetesimal impacts into a terrestrial magma ocean: Fate of the iron core." Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 448: 24-33 [10.1016/j.epsl.2016.05.012]

    Non-Refereed

    Henning, W., J. Renaud, P. Saxena, et al. P. Whelley, A. Mandell, S. Matsumura, L. Glaze, T. Hurford, T. Livengood, C. Hamilton, M. Efroimsky, V. Makarov, C. Berghea, S. Guzewich, K. Tsigaridis, G. Arney, D. Cremons, S. Kane, J. Bleacher, R. Kopparapu, E. Kohler, Y. Lee, A. Rushby, W. Kuang, R. Barnes, J. A. Richardson, P. Driscoll, N. Schmerr, A. Del Genio, A. Davies, L. Kaltenegger, L. Elkins-Tanton, Y. Fujii, L. Schaefer, S. Ranjan, E. Quintana, T. Barclay, K. Hamano, N. Petro, J. Kendall, E. Lopez, and D. Sasselov. 2018. "Highly Volcanic Exoplanets, Lava Worlds, and Magma Ocean Worlds: An Emerging Class of Dynamic Exoplanets of Significant Scientific Priority." ArXiv e-prints

    Brief Bio

    Dr. Kendall studies lunar impact cratering and the formation of planetary bodies using the latest cutting-edge numerical modeling techniques. Using hypervelocity impact modeling, Dr. Kendall is able to reconstruction the lunar surface through ejecta layering and help determine the provenance of the lunar surface. Additionally, Dr. Kendall studies the ejecta near Apollo and Luna landing sites, cratering near future Artemis and CLPS missions, and ejecta and dust created by lunar landers/modules and crashes on the lunar surface.

    Selected Publications

    Refereed

    Moriarty, D. P., R. N. Watkins, S. N. Valencia, et al. J. D. Kendall, A. J. Evans, and N. E. Petro. 2020. "Evidence for a Stratified Upper Mantle Preserved within the South Pole – Aitken Basin." Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets (In Press) [10.1029/2020JE006589]

    James, P. B., D. E. Smith, P. K. Byrne, et al. J. D. Kendall, H. J. Melosh, and M. T. Zuber. 2019. "Deep Structure of the Lunar South Pole‐Aitken Basin." Geophysical Research Letters 46 (10): 5100-5106 [10.1029/2019gl082252]

    Melosh, H., J. Kendall, B. Horgan, et al. B. Johnson, T. Bowling, P. Lucey, and G. Taylor. 2017. "South Pole–Aitken basin ejecta reveal the Moon’s upper mantle." Geology 45 (12): 1063-1066 [10.1130/g39375.1]

    Kendall, J. D., and H. Melosh. 2016. "Differentiated planetesimal impacts into a terrestrial magma ocean: Fate of the iron core." Earth and Planetary Science Letters 448 24-33 [10.1016/j.epsl.2016.05.012]

    Non-Refereed

    Henning, W., J. Renaud, P. Saxena, et al. P. Whelley, A. Mandell, S. Matsumura, L. Glaze, T. Hurford, T. Livengood, C. Hamilton, M. Efroimsky, V. Makarov, C. Berghea, S. Guzewich, K. Tsigaridis, G. Arney, D. Cremons, S. Kane, J. Bleacher, R. Kopparapu, E. Kohler, Y. Lee, A. Rushby, W. Kuang, R. Barnes, J. A. Richardson, P. Driscoll, N. Schmerr, A. Del Genio, A. Davies, L. Kaltenegger, L. Elkins-Tanton, Y. Fujii, L. Schaefer, S. Ranjan, E. Quintana, T. Barclay, K. Hamano, N. Petro, J. Kendall, E. Lopez, and D. Sasselov. 2018. "Highly Volcanic Exoplanets, Lava Worlds, and Magma Ocean Worlds: An Emerging Class of Dynamic Exoplanets of Significant Scientific Priority." ArXiv e-prints

                                                                                                                                                                                            
    NASA Logo, National Aeronautics and Space Administration