Small chip, grand mission: searching for signs of extraterrestrial life

Is life possible – or has it ever been possible – on other planets? The (Origin of) Life Marker Chip (LMCOOL) seeks the answer. This innovative chip is being developed by a Dutch consortium led by Dr Niels Ligterink of TU Delft, with funding from the NSO Instruments Programme. A Dutch-built instrument capable of detecting …

Field campaign tracks down mineral signatures at early-life analogue hydrothermal sites in Iceland

Minerals are key indicators for habitable environments on rocky planets and they can be detected at multiple scales, from detailed lab measurements, to rocks at outcrops and by remote detection by satellites. But how are the signatures related across these contrasting measurement scales? During Summer 2025 a field team from the University Twente and TU …

Veni grant to explore habitability of Uranian moons

Several icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn harbour subsurface oceans potentially suitable for life. In contrast, our knowledge of Uranian moons is limited, as Voyager 2’s 1986 flyby remains the only visit. To improve our understanding, Dr Marc Rovira Navarro (TU Delft) has received a Veni grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) that will …

Infinite Martian mudslides in a Dutch airplane

When we send a rover to Mars, a Martian mudslide or landslide could bring a sudden end to years of hard work and investments. Scientists are therefore eager for more detailed knowledge about the nature of these landslides. But Martian gravity is much lower than Earth’s, and we don’t know how that affects mudslides on …

ERC Advanced Grant for unveiling the hidden oceans of Jupiter and Saturn’s moons

The oceans of several moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn are considered among the most promising environments for finding extraterrestrial life. Buried beneath kilometres of ice, the moons’ surfaces may carry crucial information about the oceans below. Dr. Stéphanie Cazaux has received an ERC Advanced Grant to study the interaction between the moons’ oceans and their …

Rocky Worlds 4 to be held in Groningen 2026

Applying the detailed empirical understanding gleaned from the terrestrial planets of our own Solar System is crucial in our interpretation of exoplanetary systems. The Rocky World meeting series will help build the collaborations that will pave the way for the next decade of rocky exoplanet discovery and characterisation. The next Rocky Worlds 4 meeting will take place …

Europlanet Science Congress 2026 in The Hague

From 6-11 September 2026 the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) will be organised in the Amare venue in The Hague. The 2026 edition marks the first time that this major European meeting will be held in the Netherlands. The event brings together 900-1200 attendees from various planetary science backgrounds from Europe and beyond. The two co-chairs …

Two new calls to support previous Expertise Networks and Principle Investigators in space-based research

The Netherlands Space Office (NSO) has announced two new calls targeting proposals for extending Expertise Networks and supporting Principal Investigators. 1. Call for expertise networks The first new call for proposals targeting the support of existing Expertise Networks has been opened: ‘Strengthening knowledge cooperation in space research‘. This programme aims to support Expertise Networks whose …

PhD defence: Dynamic planetary hillslopes, Lonneke Roelofs

Summary: Mountainous areas and hillslopes on both Earth and Mars are actively being eroded by various sediment transport processes. On Earth, one of the dominant processes causing change on hillslopes are debris flows. These fast-moving masses of soil, rock and water carve deep valleys and transport sediment from mountain peaks to the valleys. How debris …