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Marzia Parisi

Research Scientist

About

Research Interests

As a member of JPL's Planetary Radar and Radio Science Group, my research focuses on gravity science, planetary interiors, and atmospheric radio occultations, with a particular interest in the outer solar system. I study the interiors and atmospheres of gas and ice giants, as well as those of their icy moons (e.g. Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede), and have contributed to several interplanetary missions, including NASA’s Cassini and Juno, and ESA’s BepiColombo and JUICE.

Beyond my current mission involvement, I am involved in the planning of future robotic exploration of distant worlds, such as Uranus and Enceladus, which is believed to harbor a subsurface ocean. My expertise lies in the use of gravity measurements to detect subsurface oceans and to probe the internal and atmospheric dynamics of gaseous planets. This involves analyzing how gravitational fields can reveal hidden features, such as liquid layers beneath icy surfaces or the intricate structure of planetary atmospheres (e.g. Jupiter's Great Red Spot).

My expertise combines gravity science with planetary interior and atmospheric dynamics, enhanced by hands-on experience in conducting science operations and interpreting gravity data.

Achievements

Awards & Recognitions

  • JPL Voyager Award (2023)
  • The Edward Stone Award for Outstanding Research Publication | The depth of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot constrained by the Juno gravity overflights (2022)
  • NASA Award | NASA Early Career Achievement Medal (ECAM) (2019)
  • JPL Award | Charles Elachi Award for Outstanding Early Career Achievement (2018)

Publications

  • Iess, L., Stevenson, D.J., Parisi, M. et al. (2014). The gravity Field and Interior Structure of Enceladus. Science, 344, 6179, 78-80. DOI:10.1126/science.1250551.
  • Ofman, L., Parisi M. & Srivastava A.K. (2015). Three dimensional MHD Modeling of Vertical Kink Oscillations in an Active Region Plasma Curtain. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 582, A75, pp. 9. DOI:10.1051/0004-6361/201425054.
  • Parisi, M., Galanti, E., Finocchiaro, S. et al. (2016). Probing the depth of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot with the Juno gravity experiment, Icarus, 267, 232-242. DOI:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.011.
  • Bolton, S.J., Adriani, A., […], Parisi, et al. (2017). Jupiter’s interior and deep atmosphere: the first pole-to-pole pass with the Juno spacecraft. Science, 356, 821-825. DOI:10.1126/science.aal2108.
  • Iess, L., Folkner, W.M., Durante, D., Parisi, M. et al. (2018). The measurement of Jupiter’s asymmetric gravity field. Nature, 555, 220-222, DOI:10.1038/nature25776.
  • Parisi, M., Folkner, W. M., E. Galanti et al. 2019. A mascon approach to estimating the depth of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot with Juno gravity measurements. Planetary and Space Science, 104781. DOI:10.1016/j.pss.2019.104781.
  • Durante, D., Parisi, M., Serra, D. et al. (2020). Jupiter’s gravity halfway through Juno’s mission. Geophysical, Research Letters, 47, 4. DOI:10.1029/2019GL086572.
  • Wahl, S.M., Parisi, M., Folkner, W. M. et al. (2020). Equilibrium tidal response of Jupiter: detectability by Juno spacecraft. The Astrophysical Journal, 891,1. DOI:10.3847/1538-4357/ab6cf9.
  • Parisi, M., Galanti, E., Folkner, W.M., Kaspi, Y. & Buccino, D.R. (2020). Resolving the latitudinal short-scale gravity field of Jupiter using Slepian functions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. Vol. 125, Issue 11. e2020JE006416. DOI:10.1029/2020JE006416.
  • Parisi, M., Kaspi, Y., Galanti, E. et al. (2021). The depth of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot constrained by the Juno gravity overflights. Science, 374(6570), 964-968. DOI:10.1126/science.abf1396.
  • Parisi, M., Vaquero, M., Hedman, M. & Tiscareno, M. (2022). Gravity Investigation of Saturn’s Inner System with the Innovative Skimmer Concept. The Planetary Science Journal, 3(1), 19. DOI:10.3847/PSJ/ac47a0.
  • Parisi, M. (2023). The case for future gravity science investigations at Saturn with a planetary orbiter. The Planetary Science Journal, 4 (8), 152. DOI:10.3847/PSJ/ace7ce
  • Parisi, M., Caruso, A., Buccino, D.R. et al. (2023). Measurements of Europa’s Ionosphere from Juno’s close flyby. Geophysical Research Letter, 50, 22, e2023GL106637. DOI:10.1029/2023GL106637
  • Genova, A., Parisi, M., et al. (2023). Geodesy investigation with an Enceladus Orbiter. The Planetary Science Journal, 5, 40. DOI:10.3847/PSJ/ad16df
  • Parisi, M., A.J. Friedson, C.R. Mankovich et al. (2024), Uranus Orbiter and Probe: a radio science investigation to determine the planet’s gravity field, depth of the winds and tidal deformations. The Planetary Science Journal, 5.116. DOI:10.3847/PSJ/ad4034