Mini-profile:
Zita Martins is a Royal Society Research Fellow at Imperial College London, working in the field of Astrobiology. She has an MSc in Chemistry from Instituto Superior Técnico (Portugal, 2002) and a PhD in Astrobiology from Leiden University (The Netherlands, 2007). She is a Co-Investigator of two space missions, which will be installed on the International Space Station.
Zita Martins has an active involvement with public outreach activities, including several international media interviews and public talks at museums and Science festivals. She was also selected as a BBC Expert Women Scientist.
When Zita was in high school she saw a TV show with Carl Sagan, The Cosmos. That was truly inspiring! Later, when she was in college doing Chemistry, she saw a film based on the book from Carl Sagan (The Contact) and at that moment she knew she wanted to work in the field of Astrobiology.
Zita would like to provide answers to the questions “How did life started on Earth?” and “Is there life elsewhere in the Solar System?”
In her spare time she practices martial arts (aikido), spends time with friends, likes to cook (and eat), and enjoys different forms of art (going to concerts, ballet, opera, museums, etc.) She also loves to travel (and to learn new languages, and to understand the culture of that country). She travels frequently due to her job but also to visit her family in Portugal.
