PhD position in remote and in-situ life detection techniques University of Bern in Switzerland

PhD position at the University of Bern in computational chemistry, metabolism modelling, planetary science, and astrobiology within the NCCR Genesis research infrastructure. The project investigates the habitability of two extreme Solar System environments: the cloud layer of Venus and the subsurface ocean/plume environment of Enceladus . The successful candidate will develop a computational modelling framework that combines planetary environmental chemistry with microbial metabolic networks to ...

PhD opportunity at the University of Bern in the Centre for Space and Habitability (CSH), within the new NCCR Genesis research infrastructure funded by SNSF. The project focuses on remote sensing of microorganisms in extreme environments , especially the detectability of selected bacteria in ice/salt mixtures exposed to vacuum, extremely low temperatures, and high radiation. You will work with a high-sensitivity spectro-polarimeter, a temperature-vacuum chamber, an electron gun, and a UV light s...

The University of Bern is advertising a fully funded PhD position in Planetary Science within the Space Research and Planetary Sciences division. The project focuses on how impacts and sublimation shape the surfaces of comets and other icy bodies , with particular attention to impact craters , surface morphology, and long-term landscape evolution. The research combines laboratory experiments on crater sublimation with numerical modelling of landscape evolution over billion-year timescales. The s...

PhD position at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering on experimental characterisation of icy moons' surfaces . This project focuses on the surfaces and plume-related environments of Enceladus , with additional relevance to Europa and Ganymede . The research uses laboratory experiments in the PISCES (Planetary Ices Simulation Chamber for Enceladus and MoonS) facility to simulate icy moon conditions and study how gravity, temperature fluctuations, radia...

Postdoctoral Associate in Astrobiology at the University of Florida (Main Campus, Gainesville, Florida, United States). This postdoctoral opening is focused on astrobiology , with research on the biosignature preservation potential of Ocean World ices exposed to space-like combinations of temperature, pressure, and radiation. The project includes experiments using the Europa Tower (Stone Aerospace Facility), cryogenic temperatures, hard vacuum, large ice columns, ionizing and UV radiation, and i...