Tag: Mars

EAI Summer School in Iceland: Biosignatures and the Search For Life on Mars (and other planets)

18 to 26 June, 2026

The school aims to cover the subject of the search for life in different environments, both on early Earth, below Earth’s surface and on Mars. It will bring together students and researchers from a multitude of different fields. It is co-organised by the European Astrobiology Institute,  the University of Akureyri and Stockholm University. Field studies on the colonisation of lava fields and Mars analogue landscapes will complement the lectures. The programme of the summer school comprises:

  • lectures by internationally leading scientists covering a broad range of subjects in astrobiology
  • investigation of colonisation Mars analogue landscapes with in situ life detection techniques
  • excursions to geologically and astrobiologically interesting sites (lava caves, new lava fields):
    • Námaskarð geothermal area
    • Krafla volcanic area
    • the Mars analogue landscapes in Northern Iceland
    • the Myvatn area with the Skútustaðir pseudocraters and the Hverfjall cinder cone
  • a poster sessions for students and early career scientists
  • participant-led discussions

A multitude of highly merited researchers have agreed to teach at the course (see the Programme page for details. The deadline for application is 15 April 2026 23:59:00 UTC.

The school is open for students amd scientists from all countries. For further information please click here.

See you in Iceland in June!

Postdoctoral Research position in Astrochemistry/Planetology

The team of the project ORGAMISS within the ASTRO team of the PIIM laboratory in Marseille (France) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to investigate the impact of space weathering to detect organic matter in mineral matrices simulating solar system bodies.

This project investigates the origin and chemical evolution of extraterrestrial organic matter in past or present aqueous environments of Solar System bodies. The project will experimentally simulate the fate of organic matter on the surface of bodies (asteroids, Mars) using analogs and meteorites and define biases for the detection of OM in mineral matrices.

The preferred candidate will have a PhD (or close to completion) in astrochemistry, planetary sciences, chemistry or a closely related field, with knowledge and familiarity in spectroscopic techniques (IR, UV, Raman) and experimental works. The candidate should have demonstrated skills for experiments and/or analytics during the PhD or postdoctoral positions.

For more information, click here (PDF file).

The starting date is expected before July 2026.
Please send a CV, a description of research interests, a publication list, and email addresses of 2 referees as a single PDF file to Vassilissa.vinogradoff@univ-amu.fr

British Planetary Science Conference (BPSC), UK, 2026

The British Planetary Science Conference will be hosted by the University of St Andrews, from 9-11th June 2026.

Registration for BPSC 2026 is now open and the registration portal can be found here.

Online registration is open til Wednesday 27th May, with the early registration deadline on Saturday 9th May. The abstract submission deadline is also on Saturday 9th May.

BPSC2026 will cover the wide range of our community’s interests including meteorites, sample return missions, Mars, the Moon and more. We want BPSC2026 to bring together planetary scientists from across disciplines and institutions to promote a collegiate and supportive space to discuss and present new ideas and results.

For more information, visit the event’s website here.

EAI Summer School in Iceland: Biosignatures and the Search For Life on Mars (and other planets)

18 to 26 July, 2026

The school aims to cover the subject of the search for life in different environments, both on early Earth, below Earth’s surface and on Mars. It will bring together students and researchers from a multitude of different fields. It is co-organised by the European Astrobiology Institute,  the University of Akureyri and Stockholm University. Field studies on the colonisation of lava fields and Mars analogue landscapes will complement the lectures. The programme of the summer school comprises:

  • lectures by internationally leading scientists covering a broad range of subjects in astrobiology
  • investigation of colonisation Mars analogue landscapes with in situ life detection techniques
  • excursions to geologically and astrobiologically interesting sites (lava caves, new lava fields):
    • Námaskarð geothermal area
    • Krafla volcanic area
    • the Mars analogue landscapes in Northern Iceland
    • the Myvatn area with the Skútustaðir pseudocraters and the Hverfjall cinder cone
  • a poster sessions for students and early career scientists
  • participant-led discussions

A multitude of highly merited researchers have agreed to teach at the course (see the Programme page for details. The deadline for application is 15 April 2026 23:59:00 UTC.

The school is open for students amd scientists from all countries. For further information please click here.

See you in Iceland in June!

Funded PhD studentships at the Natural History Museum in London (UK)

There are several PhD projects available at the Natural History Museum, for a September/October 2024 start. These projects are in the fields of meteorites, mineralogy, and remote sensing.

STFC projects: (up to 2 studentships)

UK Space Agency project: (guaranteed funding)

>> Deadline: 4th of February 2024 <<

Full details of the application process, supervisors, and associated universities can be found on all the project pages.

Fully funded PhD studentships at the University of Stirling (Scotland, UK)

Fully funded PhD studentships in the realm of astrobiology and Mars exploration are available within the Earth and Planetary Observation Research Group at the University of Stirling.

  1. Preservation of Organic Carbon Compounds and Potential Biosignatures by Reactive Iron Minerals on Mars (guaranteed funding from the UK Space Agency).
  2. Carbon sequestration processes in the rusty carbon sink (competition-funded through UKRI NERC DTP Iapetus).

>> Start of programme: 1st of October 2024 <<
>> Deadline: 5th of January 2024 <<

Please contact Dr Christian Schroeder for further details and how to apply.