Dr. Joseph McNeil

I’m Joe, a planetary scientist based at the Natural History Museum in London.

I study how planetary surfaces record the history of our solar system over billions of years.

My research uses orbital and rover data to investigate the geological evolution of Mars, from the detailed stratigraphy and mineralogy of rover landing sites to the large-scale processes that shaped the planet’s earliest crust. By developing new ways to utilise multispectral and hyperspectral datasets from orbit, I map minerals formed by water, detect evidence of ancient impacts, and reconstruct how the Martian surface has changed through time.

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My work helps reveal how planetary environments evolved over billions of years, and what they can tell us about the potential for life beyond Earth.

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Space. For All.

One of the best parts of my job is sharing the solar system with as many Earthlings as possible! Check out some of my recent outreach highlights below.

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See what I've been working on.

Here's a selection of my latest papers and projects!

Dichotomy retreat and aqueous alteration on Noachian Mars recorded in highland remnants

Joseph D. McNeil, Peter Fawdon, Matthew R. Balme, Angela L. Coe, Javier Cuadros, Stuart M. R. Turner

Nature Geoscience, vol. 18(2), 2025, pp. 124-132

Hydrated Silica in Oxia Planum, Mars

Joseph D. McNeil, Peter Grindrod, Livio L. Tornabene, Peter Fawdon, Vidhya Ganesh Rangarajan

Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, vol. 130(9), 2025

New Impacts on Mars: Unraveling Seismic Propagation Paths Through a Cerberus Fossae Impact Detection

Constantinos Charalambous, W. Thomas Pike, Benjamin Fernando, Natalia Wójcicka, Doyeon Kim, Marouchka Froment, Philippe Lognonné, Savana Woodley, Lujendra Ojha, Valentin T. Bickel, Joseph McNeil, Gareth S. Collins, Ingrid J. Daubar, Anna Horleston, Bruce Banerdt

Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 52(3), 2025

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