Anton Ermakov

Background

About Anton Ermakov

My research lies at the intersection of planetary science and planetary exploration and focuses on studying the internal structure and evolution of the Solar System bodies ranging from asteroids to gas giants. I was a member of the NASA Dawn mission team. Dawn was the first mission to orbit two small bodies in the Solar System: asteroid Vesta and dwarf Ceres. Small bodies are a time machine that lets us explore the environment in which planets formed. Combining gravity and topography data sets is one of the most powerful tool to study deep planetary interiors from orbit. I used gravity and shape data for detailed studies of asteroid Vesta's and dwarf planet Ceres's internal structures. The Dawn data have established a framework for future geophysical investigations of water-rich worlds in the outer Solar System such as Europa and Enceladus. Currently, I am a participating scientist in the NASA’s Juno mission. Juno is currently orbiting Jupiter and has performed several flybys of the Jovian moons. I use the data from the Juno’s instrument suite to study the interior of Jupiter and its satellites in context of their formation and evolution models.