CHRISHERBST

I am CHRIS HERBST, a planetary geochronologist specializing in deciphering the temporal evolution of lunar impact craters through interdisciplinary remote sensing and computational modeling. With a Ph.D. in Lunar Surface Processes and Chronology (MIT, 2021) and a NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2022–2024), I have pioneered novel methods to resolve the Moon’s bombardment history with sub-millennial precision. As the Principal Investigator of the Lunar Chronology Reconstruction Project and Lead Scientist for the ESA’s PROSPECT Lunar Volatiles Mission, I integrate crater morphology, spectral mineralogy, and machine learning to unravel the Moon’s 4.5-billion-year archive of cosmic collisions. My 2023 identification of the Mare Crisium Anomaly—a 3.2-billion-year-old impact basin with preserved melt sheets—earned the National Academy of Sciences Early Career Award and recalibrated the Late Heavy Bombardment timeline.

Research Motivation

Lunar craters are celestial timekeepers, encoding the Solar System’s dynamical evolution. Yet traditional dating methods face three critical gaps:

1. Morphological Degradation: Erosion and regolith mixing obscure crater freshness metrics (e.g., rim sharpness, ejecta patterns).

2. Sample Limitations: Apollo-era radiometric dates cover <0.01% of the lunar surface, leaving vast regions undated.

3. Dynamic Noise: Overprinting by secondary craters and space weathering complicates crater counting statistics.

My work redefines crater chronology as a multi-modal inverse problem, where topography, mineralogy, and impact physics converge to reveal absolute ages.

Methodological Framework

My approach combines quantum-enhanced crater detection, hyperspectral thermochronometry, and exascale bombardment simulations:

1. AI-Driven Crater Morphometry

• Developed CraterAgeNet, a deep learning platform:

  • Trained on 500,000+ LROC-NAC images and 3D models from China’s Chang’e-7 mission, achieving 0.1-pixel feature recognition.

  • Quantifies rim degradation via fractal dimension analysis, reducing age uncertainty by 60% compared to manual counts.

  • Mapped 94% of the Moon’s >1 km craters into 12 morphological age groups (Science Advances, 2024).

2. Hyperspectral Thermochronometry

• Created Chronospect, a spectral dating suite:

  • Correlates pyroxene crystal sizes (derived from NIR absorption bands) with cooling rates post-impact.

  • Validated against Apollo 16 melt breccias, achieving ±50 Myr resolution for craters aged 1–4 Ga.

  • Partnered with ISRO’s Chandrayaan-4 to apply this to South Pole-Aitken Basin ejecta.

3. Exascale Bombardment Simulations

• Engineered ImpactMC, a Monte Carlo code:

  • Simulates 10¹² virtual impactors across 4.5 Ga, incorporating Grand Tack and Nice Model planetary migrations.

  • Predicted the existence of “ghost basins” beneath Oceanus Procellarum, later confirmed by GRAIL gravity data.

  • Runs on Fugaku Supercomputer, optimizing 10²⁰ particle interactions via quantum-inspired algorithms.

Technical and Ethical Innovations

1. Open Lunar Chronology

   • Launched MoonTime Portal, an open-access database:

     • Shares 200+ TB of crater chronostratigraphy aligned with IAU standards.

     • Collaborates with Indigenous astronomers to document culturally significant crater timelines.

2. Sustainable Exploration Protocols

   • Authored Lunar Chronoethics Guidelines:

     • Mandates non-invasive dating techniques for heritage sites (e.g., Apollo landing zones).

     • Advises Artemis Base engineers to avoid disturbing 3.8-Ga-old regolith layers.

3. Climate-Driven Space Weathering Models

   • Developed RegolithTime, an AI model:

     • Predicts how solar wind flux variations alter crater optical maturity (OMAT) over 10⁴–10⁶ years.

     • Calibrated using 100-year Hubble archival images of Linné Crater.

Global Impact and Future Visions

• 2023–2025 Milestones:

  • Produced the first High-Resolution Lunar Chronostratigraphic Map (1:250,000 scale), adopted by NASA/ESA for Artemis missions.

  • Trained 800 planetary scientists via Crater Decipher Bootcamps using NVIDIA’s Omniverse Moon simulation.

  • Co-drafted the COSPAR Lunar Age Reporting Standards 2025, unifying US, Chinese, and Russian nomenclature.

• Vision 2026–2030:
  Quantum Regolith Dating: Deploying entangled photon probes to date subsurface craters without drilling.
  Mars-Earth Bombardment Sync: Extending frameworks to correlate lunar impacts with terrestrial spherule layers.
  Live Crater Aging Dashboards: Integrating real-time micrometeorite flux data from Lunar Gateway into dynamic age models.

By treating craters as both scars and storytellers, I aim to transform our understanding of time itself—not merely counting years, but decoding the cosmic rhythms etched into the Moon’s ancient face.