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Monica Grady

Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University
Monica Mary Grady CBE (born 1958) is a leading British space scientist, primarily known for her work on meteorites. Since 2005, she has been Professor of Planetary and Space Science at the Open University, and is currently Head of the Department of Physical Sciences.

Prior to 2005, Grady was based at the Natural History Museum in London, where she curated the UK's national collection of meteorites. She graduated from the University of Durham in 1979, then went on to complete a Ph.D. on carbon in stony meteorites at Darwin College, Cambridge in 1982. Since then, she has built up an international reputation in meteoritics, publishing many papers on the carbon and nitrogen isotope geochemistry of primitive meteorites, on Martian meteorites, and on interstellar components of meteorites. She gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2003, on the subject "A Voyage in Space and Time". Asteroid (4731) was named Monicagrady in her honour.

Grady was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to space sciences. She is the first UK scientist to be President of the international Meteoritical Society.

Grady is the oldest of eight children; her youngest sister, Dr Ruth Grady, is a Senior Lecturer in microbiology at the University of Manchester. Grady's husband, Professor Ian Wright is also a meteoriticist.

Space Science Series

Six space missions to look forward to in 2024

Jan 04, 2024 04:40 am UTC| Science

Its going to be a bumper time for space missions in 2024 especially to the Moon, our nearest neighbour. And thats following on from an already epic 2023. Im a laboratory scientist, so I always like to have a proper...

Space Science Series

A Nasa spacecraft is on course to deliver material from an asteroid to Earth – here's what we could learn

Sep 23, 2023 00:49 am UTC| Science

Around 15 years ago, I was on a European Space Agency (Esa) committee, looking at Esas strategy for proposed forthcoming space missions. Under consideration was a mission to an asteroid. Over dinner, one of the committee...

Physicist who found spherical meteor fragments claims they may come from an alien spaceship – here's what to make of it

Jul 11, 2023 07:36 am UTC| Science

Avi Loeb, a physicist from Harvard University in the US, has recovered 50 tiny spherical iron fragments from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that he claims may be material from an interstellar alien spaceship. Loeb is...

Mars 2020: the hunt for life on the red planet is about to get serious

Aug 01, 2020 14:54 pm UTC| Science

Next spring is going to be a busy time for Mars. In close succession, three spacecraft will arrive at the planet, joining the dozen or so craft already circling Mars. Two of the spacecraft were launched in the past couple...

How did the Earth get its water? Asteroid sample gives a surprising answer

May 02, 2019 16:45 pm UTC| Science

Water is essential for life on Earth and is one of our most precious natural resources. But considering how our planet formed, it is quite surprising how much water we still have. The Earth aggregated from a cloud of gas...

Curious Kids: how does gravity pull things down to Earth?

Aug 21, 2018 17:04 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science

This is an article from Curious Kids, a series for children of all ages. The Conversation is asking young people to send in questions theyd like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome: find details on how to enter...

Economy

Malaysia Central Bank Moves to Support Ringgit Amid Foreign Fund Outflows

Malaysias central bank has announced new measures to support the ringgit after the currency weakened more than 4% in June, driven largely by foreign investor caution and expectations of higher U.S. interest rates. Bank...

Bessent Says U.S. Must Strengthen Supply Chains and Economic Security

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration is focused on strengthening supply chain resilience to protect critical industries from economic disruptions, pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, and...

South Korea Remains MSCI Emerging Market Despite Reform Progress

South Korea will remain classified as an emerging market by MSCI after the global index provider decided not to upgrade the country to developed market status in its latest market accessibility review released on Tuesday....

South Korea’s KOSPI Rebounds as Samsung and SK Hynix Lead Tech Stock Recovery

South Koreas benchmark KOSPI index staged a strong recovery on Wednesday, climbing 3.4% to 8,480.21 points after suffering a sharp sell-off in the previous session. The rebound was driven largely by gains in major...

Australia Inflation Cools in May, But Core CPI Keeps RBA Rate Hike Risks Alive

Australias inflation rate eased more than expected in May, offering signs that price pressures may be gradually cooling and strengthening the case for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep interest rates unchanged in...

Politics

US Senate Approves War Powers Resolution Urging Trump to End Iran Military Action

The U.S. Senate has approved a war powers resolution directing President Donald Trump to halt U.S. military involvement in Iran, marking a significant congressional challenge to the administrations foreign policy. The...

Crimea Power Outage After Ukrainian Drone Attack, Russian Authorities Say

Power supplies were disrupted in Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-annexed Crimea, following what local Russian-installed authorities described as a Ukrainian attack on energy infrastructure. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the...

Cait Conley Wins Democratic Nomination, Sets Up Key House Battle Against Mike Lawler in New York

Cait Conley, a U.S. Army veteran and former national security official, has secured the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Congressman Mike Lawler in New Yorks highly competitive 17th Congressional District. The...

U.S. Eases Iran Team Travel Restrictions Ahead of Seattle World Cup Match

The United States has relaxed travel restrictions for Irans national soccer team ahead of its upcoming FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, allowing the squad to enter the country two days before kickoff instead of just one...

Peru Election Dispute Deepens as Roberto Sanchez Rejects Runoff Results

Perus presidential election dispute intensified on Tuesday after leftist candidate Roberto Sanchez announced that he would not recognize the outcome of the tightly contested presidential runoff, alleging electoral fraud...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Anthropic AI Model Uncovers Vulnerabilities in Classified U.S. Government Systems During Security Test

Anthropics advanced artificial intelligence model identified vulnerabilities in classified U.S. government computer systems during a recent security testing exercise, according to a report by the Associated Press citing a...

Samsung Electronics Stock Surges on Report of Massive $59 Billion Share Buyback Plan

Samsung Electronics shares rallied sharply on Wednesday after a report suggested the company could launch a substantial share buyback program worth nearly 90 trillion won ($59 billion) over the next three years. The...

SK Hynix Moves Closer to New York ADR Listing Amid AI Chip Boom

South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix is reportedly preparing to take a major step toward a U.S. market debut by filing documents for an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) offering with South Koreas financial regulator....

Cerebras Revenue Forecast Tops Expectations, but Margin Concerns Weigh on Stock

Cerebras Systems delivered a strong revenue outlook for 2026 that exceeded Wall Street expectations, but investors remained cautious as the companys profit margin forecast highlighted the challenges of competing with AI...

SpaceX Stock Rebounds After Sharp Selloff, But Valuation Concerns Persist

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) recovered modestly on Tuesday, closing 0.9% higher at $156.06 after briefly falling below its post-IPO opening price during intraday trading. The stock touched a low of $147.11, slipping beneath the...