Charles Hibbitts

As a planetary scientist, Dr. Charles “Karl” Hibbitts conducts research to understand the compositions of the surfaces of airless bodies in our solar system, especially the links among surface composition, geology, and exogenic influences. He uses a combination of laboratory research and theoretical modeling to interpret the results from spacecraft data, develops infrared optical instruments for spaceflight, and applies his expertise to terrestrial investigations relevant to national security interests. Dr. Hibbitts is the deputy principal investigator (PI) of the Europa Clipper MISE infrared mapping spectrometer and was deputy PI and mid-IR camera lead on the NASA BRRISON and BOPPS stratospheric balloon missions, which demonstrated the scientific and cost effectiveness of spectral imaging of solar system objects from NASA balloon platforms in the upper stratosphere. The laboratory work is conducted at a facility he developed at APL that couples the VUV–LWIR spectral capabilities with a UHV system capable of mimicking the vacuum, temperature, and radiation environments of airless surfaces from Mercury to the moons of Saturn.