Zita Martins

Zita Martins is a Royal Society University Research Fellow at Imperial College London, working in the field of Astrobiology. Her research interests include the detection of bio-signatures in space missions, and the possible contribution of organic compounds present in meteorites and comets to the origin of life on Earth.

She has a 5-year undergraduate degree (Licenciatura) in Chemistry from Instituto Superior Técnico (Portugal, 2002) and a PhD in Astrobiology from Leiden University (The Netherlands, 2007). She was an Invited Scientist at NASA Goddard, and an Invited Professor at the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis (France). In 2009 she was awarded a Royal Society Research Fellowship worth 1 Million British Pounds.

She is a Co-Investigator of two space missions (OREOcube and EXOcube), which will be installed in the International Space Station. Zita Martins is a Member of two Topical Teams of the European Space Agency (ESA), a Member of the Phobos Sample Return Science Study Team of ESA, a Member of the UK Space Agency's Space Environments Working Group, and a Committee member of the Astrobiology Society of Britain (ASB).

Zita Martins has an active involvement with public outreach activities, including several international media interviews and public talks at museums and Science festivals (more info at http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/z.martins and Twitter). She had the honour of having her portrait sketched (special commission) for the Royal Society exhibit about successful women in science. She was also selected by the BBC as an Expert Women Scientist.

In 2015 Dr Zita Martins was appointed Oficial da Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada (OSE) by the President of Portugal for exceptional and outstanding merits in science.