NIU geography professor Wei Luo always has enjoyed studying Mars, and now, thanks to a grant from NASA, he will be able to study Mars on his own.

The three-year $187,000 grant is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Luo, who has been an NIU professor for nine years, said he plans to research Mars’ landscape with the grant money, specifically studying the planet’s valley networks. Luo said he thinks Mars at one time had a climate that was like Earth’s.

“The aim is to try to determine what processes are primarily responsible for generating the valley networks,” Luo said. “The processes for martian valley network formation has important implications on past martian climate, which is also important for studying life on Mars.”

Luo will write a report at the end of his research study and eventually will publish the results in professional journals.

“I will start by collecting data, quantifying the landscape on Mars and comparing those on Earth,” Luo said. “I will also conduct computer simulations of different processes operating and compare the result with real landscape.”

Luo said he hopes to start studying Mars in May if the money from NASA permits.

He said he hopes his study of Mars will help generate student interest within geography.

“Mars is a fascinating planet,” Luo said. “It is a fascinating planet with a lot of mysteries waiting to be solved.”