15.00-16.00 Paul Mahaffy is the Director of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA Goddard. He is the Principal Investigator (PI) on the Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument Suite on the Curiosity Rover currently operating on the surface of Mars. He is also PI on the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer on the MAVEN Mars orbiter mission on its way to Mars and the PI on the Neutral Mass Spectrometer on the LADEE mission that recently finished a very successful mission in lunar orbit exploring the tenuous lunar exosphere.

His research interests include: chemical and isotopic composition of planetary atmospheres and surfaces, astrobiology, and advanced instrument development for organic and light isotope analysis in planetary targets.