'Dinosaurs led me to the moon'


Craig Hardgrove

Craig Hardgrove was fascinated with dinosaurs. When he found out they were killed off by an asteroid, he became fascinated with space. Now he’s head of a NASA satellite project to explore water-ice deposits on moon. “If you’re interested in something, you never really know where it’s going to lead you,” Craig says.

Luna-H Map

An image of the LunaH-Map Orbiter

Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper

It has been six years since deposits of water were found on the moon. Now the question isn’t “Is there,” but “How much” and “Where.” The LunaH-Map orbiter will train two neutron spectrometers on the moon’s south pole region to confirm and map water deposits in the always-dark craters there. The results will become part of NASA’s strategy for sending humans farther into the solar system.

Craig's favorite dinosaur

An image of the triceratops dinosaur

triceratops [trahy-ser-uh-tops]

Triceratops exceeded the largest rhinoceroses in bulk, equalling a fairly large elephant, but with much shorter legs.

Explore your interests, options, future

me3 is an interactive game that leads college-bound students to new, even unexpected paths like Craig’s. They explore career interests, relate them to college majors, and design a high school experience around them. Explore more

Download the Learn to Thrive app in the App Store or Google Play Store for more interactive features.

 
An icon to download the app on Google Play

Alumni, Tempe campus, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Science and technology, Expert Q-and-A, Science, Learn to Thrive, Space exploration, Technology, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

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