She identifies places on Earth that might be like places on other planets. She looks at life in those places on Earth and predicts what life would look like on other planets. Lynch also looks at fossils and other signs of past life. She hopes to help us identify what the same signs of life might look like on other planets. Much of Lynch's research has been in the Pilot Valley Basin in the Great Salt Desert of northwestern Utah, U.S. In ancient times that area had a lake. Mars has a similar ancient lake called Jezero Crater. Because of Lynch's research in the Pilot Valley Basin, NASA decided to land the Perseverance Rover mission at Jezero Crater. Jim Greene, Chief Scientist at NASA, called Lynch "a perfect expert to be involved in the Perseverance rover." She is also helping to select a landing site for NASA's first manned mission to Mars in 2035. Lynch has appeared in two television series. She also appeared in "The New York Times", "Nature", "Scientific American", and "Popular Science". Science magazine "Cell Press" called Lynch one of the most inspiring Black scientists in the United States.