I am a planetary scientist who studies the surfaces of various planetary bodies using remote sensing (sometimes augmented with field and laboratory studies). I try to understand the nature of active geological processes through the current planetary landscape. These studies provide insights into the geological evolution of the planetary body as well as help us understand the workings of various geological processes.

I am actively working on the Moon and Enceladus (mainly its plume) on aspects related to composition, texture and surface morphology. I am applying my studies on the Moon to understand impact cratering process and lunar crustal evolution. On Enceladus, I am studying water-ice particles in the plume as a direct sample from the subsurface ocean and exploring their astrobiological potential.

Apart from academic research, I have interest in science communication and outreach, photography, recycling waste in innovative ways and creative writing.

I am always looking for collaborations at various levels. So, if you are a student looking for short/long term projects or a scientist who has an interesting planetary science-related idea or a media person who would like to help popularize planetary science, please feel free to contact me. While time and funding remain perennial issues to be tackled, I will try to do my best.

Recent Publications (Google Scholar Citations)

1. Hedman M. M., D. Dhingra, P. D. Nicholson, C. J. Hansen, G. Portyankina, S. Ye and Y. Dong (2018) Spatial variations in the dust to gas ratio of Enceladus Plume, Icarus, 305, 123-138 [Link]

2. Bhatt M., Wohler C., D. Dhingra, G. Thangjam, D. Rommel, U. Mall, A. Bhardwaj and A. Grumpe (2018) Compositional studies of Mare Moscoviense: New perspectives from Chandrayaan-1 VIS-NIR data, Icarus, 303, 149-165 [Link]

3. Dhingra D., Matthew M. Hedman, Roger N. Clark. Phillip D. Nicholson (2017) Spatially resolved near-infrared observations of Enceladus tiger stripe eruptions from Cassini VIMS, Icarus, 292, 1-12 [Link]

4. Dhingra D., J. W. Head and C.M. Pieters (2017) Geological mapping of impact melt deposits at lunar complex craters: New insights into morphological diversity, distribution and the cratering process, Icarus, 283, 268-281, DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2016.05.004 [Link]

5. Dhingra D., C. M. Pieters and J.W. Head (2015) Multiple origins of olivine at Copernicus crater, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 420, 95-101 [Link]

Media Coverage of My Research (Click to link to the media story)

Geological mapping of impact melt

Mg-Spinel: A New rock type on the Moon

Mineralogically distinct impact melt on the Moon [1, 2, 3]