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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

Crypto Market Selloff Wipes Out $100B as Bitcoin Falls Below $83K

The crypto market extended its selloff on Wednesday, wiping out more than $100 billion in value over 24 hours and pushing total market capitalization back to around $2.9 trillion. Despite the decline, investor sentiment...

RBI Raises Repo Rate to 5.50% in Hawkish Shift on Inflation Risks

The Reserve Bank of India raised its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% on Wednesday, delivering its first interest rate hike since February 2023 as policymakers respond to rising inflation risks and...

European Stocks Fall as Oil Rises Ahead of Fed Minutes

European shares moved lower on Wednesday as investors took profits following recent gains, with rising crude oil prices and caution ahead of the Federal Reserves meeting minutes weighing on market sentiment. The...

US Stock Futures Flat as Fed Minutes, Earnings Loom

U.S. stock futures were largely unchanged in Asian trading Wednesday after the SP 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached record closing highs, with investors awaiting Federal Reserve meeting minutes and the upcoming...

Asian Currencies Mixed as Yen Weakens, Dollar Holds Firm

Asian currencies traded mixed on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar remained near recent highs, while the Japanese yen weakened toward 158 per dollar amid uncertainty over the Bank of Japans policy outlook and renewed concerns...

Politics

Houthis Strike Aden Airport as Yemen Fighting Escalates

Houthi forces launched ballistic missiles and explosive drones at Aden International Airport early Wednesday as fighting intensified between the Iran-aligned group and Yemens Saudi-backed government. Yemens Transport...

Rapidus Seeks Chip Customers as Japan Pushes 2nm Semiconductor Revival

Japans Rapidus is expanding partnerships with global chip design companies as the state-backed semiconductor manufacturer races to secure customers for its planned 2-nanometre production facility. Backed by roughly $15...

Vance Demands Iran Cut Nuclear Enrichment to End War

US Vice President JD Vance said Iran must significantly reduce its nuclear enrichment capacity before Washington will agree to end the seven-month US-Iran war, stressing that concrete action rather than diplomatic...

North Korea Slams US Taiwan Arms Sales, Reaffirms Russia Support

North Korea has criticized the United States for supplying weapons and military support to Taiwan, accusing Washington of increasing tensions across the Taiwan Strait as Pyongyang also reaffirmed its backing for Russia. In...

Iran Tanker Attacks Surge as Hormuz Oil Flows Near Prewar Levels

Iran has intensified attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz even as oil shipments through the crucial waterway recover toward levels seen before the war, raising fresh concerns over Middle East energy security. UK...

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

DogecoinVM Makes DOGE Transactions 300x Faster

Fintech company Metallicus has launched an alpha version of DogecoinVM on mainnet, introducing a payment layer designed to make Dogecoin transactions significantly faster without altering the cryptocurrencys underlying...

Zcash Privacy Demand Rises as AI Exposes Bitcoin Transactions

Zcash is gaining renewed attention as artificial intelligence makes it easier to trace Bitcoin transactions and connect public wallet activity with real-world identities, strengthening demand for privacy-focused...

Intel Reaffirms Role in Elon Musk’s Terafab Chip Project

Intel will continue working with Elon Musk on the ambitious Terafab semiconductor project, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said, reaffirming the U.S. chipmakers role despite speculation that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC)...

LG Electronics Shares Slide as Q3 Profit Misses Estimates

LG Electronics shares dropped sharply on Wednesday after the South Korean technology giant reported preliminary third-quarter operating profit that fell short of market expectations, despite delivering solid year-on-year...

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Warns Mythos AI Raises Cyber Risk Tenfold

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that advanced artificial intelligence systems are dramatically increasing cybersecurity risks for global banks, calling cyberattacks the financial giants biggest threat. Speaking...