A 10,000-kilogram boulder moving around and gullies that look suspiciously like rivers, not on Earth, but on Mars. Expertise Network postdoc Lonneke Roelofs explains it in a new video from the ‘Universiteit van Nederland’. For years, scientists have puzzled over this: is this evidence of water on Mars and does it mean that alien life …
Space and planetary research is teamwork. This week, the Netherlands Space Office NSO, in collaboration with the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), funded new projects that promote collaboration between Dutch researchers working on international space missions. The awarded projects help scientists strengthen their leading role in international space missions and further develop space knowledge …
Read more “New projects launched for international space missions including JUICE”
In the February issue of Zenit, the national magazine for astronomy, meteorology and space research in The Netherlands, you can read all about planetary habitability, the exciting science taking place within the expertise network and the NPP. The postdocs of the Expertise Network and their colleagues have jointly written various popular science articles in this …
Read more “Planetary habitability and expertise network featured in Zenit magazine”
Funding from the 2025 programme “Use of space infrastructure for Earth observation and planetary research (GO)” will be divided among nine research projects focusing on two themes: Earth observation research and research into planets and other objects within our solar system. NSO and NWO (the Dutch Research Council) have granted more than €3.3 million to …
Read more “Three projects funded for studies of JUICE, Ganymede and Venus”
After the mid-november site visit by EPSC and Copernicus representatives, the first steps are being taken for starting the local oraganisation activities for the Europlanet Science Conference in Amare, The Hague. The official website has been launched and will be updated with the developing ideas and plans in the months to come. The two co-chairs …
A new High Pressure/Temperature Laboratory for Planetary Materials has been commissioned at TU Delft as part of the Delft Planetary Labs of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. A state-of-the-art Anton Paar FRS 1800 gas-tight rheometer was installed, the fifth facility of its kind world-wide, and is now ready for use by dr. Edgar Steenstra and …
Read more “New laboratory opens to study enigmatic volcanic processes on other planets”
At a time when budget cuts are putting heavy pressure on education, Utrecht University received a remarkable donation: two thin sections and a disc of a lunar meteorite bearing the exotic name Adrar 012. The university received this gift from Roy Masin, owner of Stone Gallery in Baarn. The thin sections—ultra-thin slices of the lunar meteorite …
Read more “Pieces of lunar meteorite donated to Utrecht University”
The NPP joined the ESTEC Open Day on 12 October and what a success it was! This year, ESTEC celebrated its 50 year existence, drawing close to 10,000 people to the technical heart of the European Space Agency to Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The annual open day also marked the ending of the NL Space Week. …
Some dunes on Mars are covered with meandering gullies defying what we know for gully formation here on Earth. Planetary scientist Dr. Lonneke Roelofs from Utrecht University investigated how these gullies were formed. In a test setup, she observed that blocks of CO2 ice ‘dug’ these gullies in a unique way. Other researchers had previously …
Read more “Mysterious gullies on Mars dug by sliding blocks of CO2 ice”
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 …
Read more “Small chip, grand mission: searching for signs of extraterrestrial life”
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 …