By Kaya Bogot

Hiding in plain sight on the surface of Mars was something big that no one had discovered. No one except Sourabh Shubham, a geology Ph.D. student at the University of Maryland.  

Shubham and his team weren’t looking for it, but once he saw it, there was no doubt he found something important.

“Once you see it, once you recognize that, ‘hey, this is probably a volcano,’ after that it is difficult to miss,” Shubham said.

The volcano Shubham is referring to is “Noctis volcano,” and the one he helped discover. 

The discovery was announced at the 55th annual Lunar and Planetary Science Convention on March 13. Its discovery brings scientists one step closer to finding possible extraterrestrial life on Mars, according to the study’s lead researcher, Pascal Lee.

The first step in their volcanic breakthrough came after the discovery of a relic glacier in this region of Mars. This glacier is near the equator of the planet, a place where ice is not commonly found. 

As they began to investigate the region more, they noticed the presence of a salt called jarosite, which Lee said was the result of the chemical reaction between volcanic materials and ice.

Shubham’s expertise in geology was instrumental in identifying the minerals they were looking at. Being able to do this helped them build a bigger picture and eventually identify the volcano.

“The whole story basically was very clear,” Lee said. “[Shubham] helped us articulate the scenario where we have a glacier there and then eventually volcanic ash falls. And then a chemical reaction takes place between the ash and the ice.”

But before Shubham was discovering volcanoes on other planets, he was a boy from a small town in India.

Shubham grew up in a town called Bokaro Thermal in eastern India, which was named for its thermal power plant. But what Shubham remembered fondly about his home was the mangoes that grew on the tree outside his house every summer. 

Despite India being such a populous place, his town was quite the opposite. Shubham recalled the quiet of his upbringing, which he said motivated him to explore the world around him.

“[Living in a quiet environment] was really helpful for drawing the inspiration,” Shubham said.

Shubham completed his undergraduate degree in geology at the Indian Institute of Technology. When it came to graduate school, Shubham looked to the United States.

“When I was making my Ph.D. applications, I was trying to find a location which has close proximity with NASA and other national laboratories as well,” Shubham said. “I found that in geology at UMD, there are lots of researchers who work on planetary bodies beyond Earth. So that attracted me most.”

Lee knew Shubham before he came to the U.S. and said he saw his potential even then.

“He approached me one day about being interested in working on Mars,” Lee said. “He already had some background working on Mars in India as an undergraduate science student. So I interviewed him remotely and he was very bright.” 

Upon coming to the U.S., Shubham immediately left an impression on many of the people he worked with. His advisor at UMD, Laurent Montési praised him for his drive.

“He was always super dedicated, thought hard about problems, but really, you could see that he had this huge desire of really working a lot,” Montési said. “It’s that type of character that we’re looking for in graduate students.”

Much of Shubham’s drive and inspiration comes from home. On the bulletin board above his desk there are pictures of his family, including his parents, his brother and his sister. He also has pictures of Indian scientists and astronauts that inspire him, one of them being the late Indian astronaut, Kalpana Chawla.

While his life is heavily influenced by science, outside of his research Shubham enjoys 3D animation, swimming and learning to play the guitar. 

Shubham also said he eventually wants to write a science fiction novel about a scientist. However, completely diving in will need to wait until he has more time.

Currently, Shubham and Lee are working on a publication of their findings to submit for peer review. Not only are their findings exciting to the scientific community, but they’re also significant to the future of Mars research and travel.

“We wanted to understand how this location is in terms of the potential for future humans to explore when NASA conducts a mission to Mars,” Shubham said. “It adds a lot of positives to at least explore the site in further detail by any robotic or human missions that may happen in future.”

Shubham’s role in discovering the Noctis volcano has received a lot of praise. Shubham said he has muted his X, formerly known as Twitter, notifications because of the social media attention he’s gotten. Back home in India, he made it into the newspaper.

“I’m very thankful to [my family] as well for the way they have also motivated me over time and happy that all these things are eventually making them very proud as well,” Shubham said.

Featured Image: Sourabh Shubham, a University of Maryland graduate geology student, poses at his office desk. Photo by Kaya Bogot.