Sarah Hörst, an associate professor in the Morton K. Blaustein Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, often builds LEGO sets when she can grab a spare moment. The result: an eye-catching office collection of space-themed builds, anchored by the Apollo Saturn V at far right. It’s not just LEGO, though; there are also some Matchbox items: “This is my space shuttle collection, so there are LEGO shuttles and Matchbox shuttles. There is some method to all of this madness,” Hörst jokes.

At home, Hörst is still working on the Apollo lander and space station sets. “I have to figure out where on earth am I going to put them,” she says.

Maybe the space scientist will have to look beyond Earth?

Hörst’s primary research interest is atmospheric chemistry, as she seeks to understand the formation and composition of planetary atmospheric hazes. She has a particular interest in the complex organic chemistry in the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon and the only satellite in our solar system with a substantial atmosphere.