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

Hayabusa 2 makes its rendezvous with its target asteroid!

6 years 11 months ago

At 9h35 JST (Japan Standard Time) this morning, Wednesday 27 June 2018, the Hayabusa2 probe reached its "home position", 20 km from the target asteroid "Ryugu", which is currently at a distance of 1.9 AU (astronomical units, 285 million km) from the Earth.

Selection of ESA ARIEL space mission

7 years 2 months ago

The European Space Agency's programme committee has just selected the ARIEL mission as the 4th intermediate class mission (budget 450 million euros) of the "Cosmic Vision" programme. ARIEL will be launched from the Kourou base in Guyana in May 2028 and will be placed in orbit at Lagrange L2, located 1.5 million kilometres from Earth. ARIEL is a space telescope that will systematically probe the atmospheres of a thousand extrasolar planets, from gas giants to rocky planets, whether hot or temperate around stars of different types. ARIEL will measure the composition and structure of planetary atmospheres, constrain the nature of planetary cores, detect the presence of clouds and study interactions with the host star.

Yves Langevin received the Runcorn-Florensky medal from EGU

7 years 7 months ago

Yves Langevin, Research Director Emeritus of Outstanding Class, has been awarded the Runcorn-Florensky Medal from EGU (European Geosciences Union). This medal is awarded to scientists for their outstanding contribution to planetology. It has been given four times only over the past 15 years.

PSUP, a portal towards Mars

7 years 9 months ago

The enormous quantity and complexity of planetary data acquired by spacecraft during the last two decades has created a demand within the planetary community for access to the raw and high level data archives and to the tools necessary to analyze these data. The number and the size of the datasets are so large that an information system to process, manage and distribute data is critical. In this framework, the Observatories of Paris Sud (OSUPS) and Lyon (OSUL) have recently developed a portal, called PSUP (Planetary SUrface Portal), to provide users with efficient and easy access to these data products.

CIVA / Philae has observed pebbles potentially witnesses of the primordial accretion process

8 years 8 months ago

In situ images of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko acquired by the 7 CIVA cameras on board Philae revealed a singular, unexpected, and very irregular landscape dominated by consolidated materials. Following a detailed study, this landing site provided a unique opportunity to constrain the past and present conditions prevailing at the surface of the comet.

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