Category: Job Positions

PhD project “FLow / ExocUbe expeRiments of Life bioSignaturEs preservation in saLts” between Paris and Bordeaux (France)

PhD position starting in autumn 2024 offered between the National Museum of Natural History in Paris (PI A. Kish) and the Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry of Bordeaux (PIs A. Cario and S. Marre), for the project Fleur de Sel (FLow / ExocUbe expeRiments of Life bioSignaturEs preservation in saLts).

The project aims to study the conservation of biosignatures in halites, combining in situ approaches (ExocubeHalo – ISS) and in the lab using microfluidics (developed at ICMCB).

This PhD project will be co-funded by both CNES and PEPR Origines (French Research Agency), thus, the application process is in two stages: first on the CNES website (the deadline is March 15th, click here), and then the successful candidate will be selected for the other funding of the project.

For more details, click >>here<<

3-year postdoc position in Origins of Life research at the Aix-Marseille University (France)

The aim of this position is to built, under the supervision of Pr. Grégoire Danger and in collaboration with Dr. Robert Pascal, Dr. Louis Le Sergeant d’Hendecourt, and Dr Vassilissa Vinogradoff, a chemistry lab dedicated to prebiotic chemistry
experiments.

The research will be carried out within the ASTRO team at the Physique des Interactions Ioniques et Moléculaires (PIIM) laboratory of the Aix-Marseille University
in France. This team is part of the Origins Institute of the Aix-Marseille University.

Application Deadline: February 15th, 2024
Starting date: June, 2024
End Date: June, 2027

>> Click here << for details on the role and how to apply.

For further information, please contact Grégoire Danger.

Funded Mars PhD studentship at the CNRS in Orléans (France)

The objective of the project “Study of the degradation of biosignatures under Martian irradiation” is to evaluate the effect of irradiation of galactic cosmic rays during several billion years on fossiliferous Mars analog rocks and the protective effect of different minerals on molecular biosignatures. This is highly relevant for the ExoMars mission to estimate the depth at which various biosignatures of interest may be preserved, depending on the mineral matrix.  These samples will be exposed to proton irradiation at the CEMHTI Pelletron (CNRS, Orléans), where the PhD student will have direct access to the accelerator.

For more details on the position, click >>here<<
For more information about the topics and the co-financial partner, contact PI Frédéric Foucher

>> Deadline: 15th of March 2024 <<

UK Space Agency-funded Mars PhD studentship at the Open University (Milton Keynes, UK)

Full 4 year funding for this studentship has already been obtained from the UK Space Agency – It will provide an early-career scientists with the key scientific and analytical skills relevant to the NASA/ESA Mars Sample Return initiative – It involves the isotopic investigation of samples that are known to be derived from the surface layers of Mars – Provides an opportunity to develop new analytical techniques relevant to martian meteorites and returned martian samples.

Details on the project can be found >>here<<, and details on how to apply for this studentship are given >>here<<

>> New deadline: 15th of March 2024 <<

Interviews will take place the week commencing 25th March. For informal discussions about the project please contact Richard Greenwood

UK Space Agency-funded Mars PhD studentship at Imperial College (London, UK)

This studentship will investigate Kasei Vallis, the largest outflow channel on Mars and one of the largest channels in the Solar System, and is believed to have been formed by catastrophic megaflooding. The student will use the latest, high-resolution orbital remote sensing datasets to construct a detailed geological history of Kasei Valles, which could provide essential insight into the drying climate of Mars. The student will also become affiliated with and provide operational support to two ongoing Mars orbiter missions: the Colour and Stereo Science Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard ESA’s TGO and the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) onboard NASA’s Mars MRO.

The project is ideal for a student interested in geomorphology, sedimentology, and planetary surfaces.

Please note that this project is separate from our other STFC projects and is guaranteed funding.

For details on the project, click >> here <<

Informal enquires are welcome to Joel Davis

>> Deadline: 1st of March 2024 <<

PDRA in Mars atmospheric research at the Open University (UK)

The Open University is recruiting for a PDRA position in Mars atmospheric research. The position is funded by the UK Space Agency, for a duration of three years.

Applications are invited from the community to join their group and undertake research using the latest data from the NOMAD instrument on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission.  The role holder will undertake an exciting combination of retrievals from instrument observations with global climate modelling studies to understand the behaviour of trace gases in the atmosphere of Mars. 

>> Click here << for details on the role and how to apply.

For further information, please contact Manish Patel

Deadline:  12 February 2024 (noon GMT)

Research Associate position in Planetary Science at the Univesity of Manchester (UK)

A Research Associate position is available at The University of Manchester for a planetary scientist to undertake research into the metal segregation processes on planetesimals in the early Solar System. The position is in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, under the direction of Prof Rhian Jones and in collaboration with Drs. Margherita Polacci and Romain Tartèse.

The goal of the project is to understand the fundamental process of melting and core formation that took place in the first planetesimals that formed in the Solar System.

>> The deadline for applying is February 19th 2024 <<

Further information can be found *here*

Planetary Astronomy PhD studentship at Queen’s University Belfast (Northern Ireland, UK)

There’s a PhD studentship available at the Queen’s University Belfast for the project “Exploring the Solar System’s Small Body Reservoirs with Rubin Observatory“.

The project will focus on developing analysis tools and utilities for LSST Solar System science in the year leading up to the start of the survey

>> Deadline: 9th of February 2024 <<

For details on the project, click >> here <<
For details on the application process, click >> here <<.

Research Associate position in Planetary Science at the Univesity of Manchester (UK)

A Research Associate position is available at The University of Manchester for a planetary scientist to undertake research into the formation and early evolution of the Solar System. The position is in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, under the direction of Prof Rhian Jones and in collaboration with Drs. Romain Tartèse and David Neave.

The goal of the project is to investigate the distribution of halogen elements in chondritic meteorites, to understand how volatile elements were distributed through early Solar System materials during the epoch of planet formation, ~4.6 billion years ago.

The appointment begins as early as April 1st 2024, and will be for 1 year.

>> The deadline is February 19th 2024 <<

Further information can be found *here*

Planetary Science PhD projects at The University of Manchester (UK)

There are several PhD projects available at the University of Manchester for a September 2024 start. These projects are in the fields of isotope geochemistry, cosmochemistry, and planetary science.

Available projects:

  • History of the Lunar Surface
  • Investigating the formation of lunar agglutinates
  • Investigating the origin of water in primitive asteroids
  • Petrogenesis of lunar mare basalts from the nearside eastern limb of the moon

>> Deadline: 5th of February 2024 <<

Full details of the projects, application process, and supervisors can be found >>here<<.