Solar and Planetary Systems

The team conducts research on three themes:

(1) Solid planets and satellites of the solar system

(2) Asteroids and comets

(3) Exoplanets

Using instruments aboard space missions, the team measures the composition of planetary surfaces and atmospheres.

The aim is to characterize the processes of physicochemical and climatic evolution in order to trace the history of the planets.

Particular attention is paid to water and carbon: where and in what state are they found in the Solar System today? What is their history, from primordial inputs to contemporary processes? What is Earth's place in the diversity of planets and exoplanets?

The team's recent research has focused in particular on Mars, water- and carbon-rich asteroids, the icy moons of Jupiter, Mercury and the atmospheres of exoplanets. The composition of these objects is studied using spectrometers and visible and infrared imagers.

Our approach combines observation, data analysis, numerical modeling and laboratory simulation. One of the team's distinguishing features is its direct involvement in the construction of numerous space instruments, with a constant concern to combine scientific and technological challenges. The team also works on microscopic analysis analysis of extraterrestrial samples, in close collaboration with the astrochemistry team.

Dernières news

JWST detects CO₂ and H₂O₂ on the surface of Charon

7 months 2 weeks ago

A study in which IAS participated has just revealed the presence of new molecules on the surface of Charon, Pluto's largest moon, thanks to observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). While a NASA mission, New Horizons, had already mapped this moon in 2015, recent observations by JWST have detected carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on its surface for the first time, enriching our understanding of its chemical composition.

Phosphorus-rich grains in Ryugu samples with major biochemical potential

8 months 5 days ago

Hydrated Ammonium-Magnesium-Phosphorus-rich compounds (“HAMP”) have been discovered in the samples from the Ryugu asteroid. Embedded within an organic-rich phyllosilicate matrix, they may have been a key source of phosphorus and nitrogen necessary for the start of prebiotic chemistry on the primitive Earth.

MicrOmega is ready to analyze Bennu samples

1 year 5 days ago

Since December 2020, the near-infrared hyperspectral microscope MicrOmega, developed by IAS, took part in the analyzes of the samples returned from the carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu by the JAXA Hayabusa2 mission. Thanks to test campaigns, with IAS participation, this high-performance instrument is now ready to analyze samples from the Bennu asteroid, brought back by OSIRIS-REx.

Start of the integration phase of the flight model cameras on the PLATO Optical Bench at Oberpfaffenhofen site of OHB System

1 year 2 months ago

How many earth-like planets orbit the habitable zone of solar-like stars? How planets form and evolve in their planetary systems? What about the interaction with their stars? These are among the questions the ESA PLATO mission is called to answer, through exquisite measurements of exoPLAnet Transits and Oscillations of stars (you now know the origin of the PLATO acronym). The “transit” measurements yield information on the size of the planets, while the “stellar oscillations” give us the mass and age of the stars, which in turn are fundamental to assess the mass and age of the hosted planets. The exquisite quality of all such measurements is secured by 26 ultra large field-of-view cameras that make the eyes of the PLATO mission.

Never 2 without 3! Three PLATO Flight cameras were tested in 2023

1 year 6 months ago

During 2023, IAS was able to test 3 Flight cameras (PFM, FM4, FM5) at the Calibration Station. The last camera was finished testing in the second week of December. All of the tests of these cameras took a little over 6 months, during which thermal vacuum tests were carried out as well as scientific performance tests. A team of about twenty people from IAS and the Station worked to enable these tests. Congratulations to all for this major achievement!

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