Team members
The people behind Earth-X
Earth-X brings together an interdisciplinary team of scientists, researchers, engineers, and professionals working at the intersection of planetary science, astrobiology, extreme environments, and space technology.
Our team combines expertise in planetary analogs, geology, microbiology, engineering, technology development, and scientific field operations to transform Earth's extreme environments into platforms for research, experimentation, and testing. Through national and international collaboration, we work toward a shared goal: advancing the science, technologies, and capabilities needed to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Dra(c). María Angélica Leal
Lecturer in the Biology Program at Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas and Executive Director of Corporación Científica Laguna (CorpoLaguna). Her research focuses on the microbiology of extreme environments, astrobiology, and the study of terrestrial planetary analogs. She has participated in three scientific expeditions to Antarctica, conducting research on environments with potential relevance as Mars analogs and investigating their connections with extreme environments in Colombia. She is also a researcher with the Planetary Sciences and Astrobiology Research Group (GCPA).
Dr(c). David Tovar
Lecturer in Astrobiology and Geology at Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas and Scientific Director of Corporación Científica Laguna (CorpoLaguna). His research focuses on terrestrial planetary analogs and the intersection of planetary geology and astrobiology, with particular emphasis on volcanic and desert environments of astrobiological interest. He has participated in two scientific expeditions to Antarctica, conducting research in extreme environments relevant to planetary exploration. He is Co-Director of the Planetary Sciences and Astrobiology Research Group (GCPA) and President of the Europlanet Colombia Hub.
Dr. Miguel Ángel de Pablo
Full Professor at the University of Alcalá (Spain). He has conducted research on the geology of Mars since 1996 and earned two doctoral degrees from two different universities, in 2009 and 2015, based on studies of the Martian surface. His research has focused on mapping and investigating landscapes shaped by water, volcanism, and glacial processes on Mars. Since 2009, he has participated in 18 scientific expeditions to Antarctica, studying frozen soils, their response to global warming, and Earth–Mars geological analogs. He was also a member of the science team of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Dra. Anezina Solomonidou
Dr. Anezina Solomonidou is a planetary scientist specializing in planetary geology and the study of potentially habitable worlds in our Solar System. She earned her Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Paris Observatory, France. She has conducted research at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Caltech in Los Angeles, contributing to the Cassini–Huygens and Europa Clipper missions, and has also worked with the European Space Agency (ESA) in Madrid on preparations for the JUICE mission. She currently serves as President of the Planetary and Solar System Sciences (PS) Division of the European Geosciences Union (EGU).
Dr. Giovanni Leone
Italian geophysicist and volcanologist specializing in planetary geology and volcanism across the Solar System. He holds doctorates in Environmental Sciences from Lancaster University (UK) and Earth Sciences from ETH Zurich (Switzerland). His research focuses particularly on the volcanic evolution of Mars, including alternative hypotheses for the formation of Valles Marineris and the Martian crustal dichotomy. He is a professor at the University of Atacama (Chile), where he conducts interdisciplinary research in planetary science, extraterrestrial resource utilization, and space biomining. He is also the editor of Mars: A Volcanic World, published by Springer in 2021.
Dra. Ximena Abrevaya
Researcher at CONICET and the Institute of Astronomy and Space Physics (IAFE) at the University of Buenos Aires. Since 2007, her research has focused on astrobiology, particularly radiation-resistant microorganisms and halophilic archaea. She has been a visiting researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the University of Graz (Austria), where she currently serves as a guest scientist. She is Director of the Argentine Astrobiology Research Network, the Argentine node of the Latin American Astrobiology Network.
Dr. Antonio Molina
Planetary scientist at the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, CSIC-INTA, Spain), specializing in the geology of early Mars through remote sensing and terrestrial analog studies. He contributes to ESA’s ExoMars Rosalind Franklin mission, including the geological and RLS Raman teams, and has worked with the REMS, TWINS, and MEDA meteorological instruments for Mars exploration. His field research includes Mars analog environments in Antarctica, the Sahara, Río Tinto, and Iceland, with participation in three Spanish Antarctic campaigns. He holds a Ph.D. in Hydrology and Water Management and has extensive experience in planetary geology, geomorphology, and remote sensing.
Dra. Carmen Rizzo
Researcher at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (Italy), Department of Marine Biotechnology. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Messina and specializes in microbial ecology, prokaryotic diversity, and microbial bioprospecting in temperate and polar environments. Her current research focuses particularly on Arctic and Antarctic microbiology and the study of microorganisms and bioactive compounds with biomedical and environmental applications. She has participated in Mediterranean oceanographic cruises and the 34th Italian Antarctic Expedition at Mario Zucchelli Station, and has extensive experience in microbial cultivation, molecular methods, metagenomics, and biostatistical analysis.
M.Sc. Jimena Sánchez
Associate Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, with extensive experience in agricultural microbiology, microbial ecology, and sustainable biofertilization, particularly in soil–plant–microorganism interactions. Her research also addresses the microbial degradation of contaminants, including pesticides and hydrocarbons, contributing to the development of bioremediation technologies. Her expertise in microbiology extends to the study of microbial communities in extreme environments and Mars analog sites. She is Director of the Planetary Sciences and Astrobiology Research Group (GCPA).
Dr. Pavel Martínez
Earth scientist specializing in geochemistry and astrobiology, trained at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), with graduate studies in Earth Sciences at the Institutes of Nuclear Sciences and Geophysics. His research focuses on organic compounds in meteorites, rock varnish, oxidizing compounds, and biomarkers in Mars analog soils, using geochemical and analytical techniques including GC-MS. His work contributes to understanding geochemical processes in extreme environments and their implications for astrobiology and planetary exploration, with publications in international journals including International Journal of Astrobiology and Life Sciences in Space Research.