PhD position: ExoMars PanCam at UCL-MSSL
A UK Space Agency-funded PhD studentship is available at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory, to work on science preparations for ExoMars PanCam, from 1 October 2015. The UCL-led PanCam instrument (Coates et al., 2012, Griffiths et al., 2006) on the ESA-Russia ExoMars rover is due to reach Mars in 2019 following its planned launch in 2018. The PanCam instrument consists of two wide angle cameras (WACs), each of which include an 11-position filter wheel, complemented by a high resolution camera. Images from the WACs at different wavelengths will provide geological and atmospheric context...
Read MorePhD position: Primitive life on Earth and Mars and the signature of organic prebiotic molecules
We have received the following notice from Dr. Frances Westall at Centre de biophysique Moléculaire, Orléans, France. Exobiology: Primitive life on Earth and Mars and the signature of organic prebiotic molecules Organic chemistry/Prebiotic chemistry/Geo-organochemistry 36 month contract (PhD) from the Région Centre, starting in Septembre 2015 The Exobiology group of the Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, CNRS, UPR 4301 in Orléans (France) is proposing a doctoral bursary financed by the Région Centre in organic chemistry/prebiotic chemistry/geo-organochemistry. The PhD...
Read MorePhD position: Sulfur cycling in Rio Tinto: an Earth analogue for extraterrestrial environments
As previously mentioned on our social media feeds, there is a PhD position available at Stirling University entitled, ‘Out of this world! Sulfur cycling in Rio Tinto, Andalucia, Spain: an Earth analogue for extraterrestrial environments’. The Rio Tinto is an Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) system in southwestern Spain. Its characteristic red colour is derived from iron dissolved in its acidic waters. The area has been mined for metals since the Bronze Age. However, there is evidence that the river waters have been naturally acidic for at least two million years. Hence, Rio Tinto offers...
Read MorePhD position: ‘Terrestrial Impact Craters: The ‘Cradles of life’?’
The University of Glasgow are currently advertising a 4-year fully-funded PhD studentship examining organic carbon in meteorites and impact craters. Brief description: This project will identify the molecular ‘fingerprint’ and origin of Earth’s earliest carbon by reconstructing both the transfer of extraterrestrial carbon to the geological record and the alteration of terrestrial carbon during meteorite bombardment. These goals will be achieved through analysis of a suite of meteorites, samples from terrestrial impact craters, plus material from a series of laboratory hypervelocity impact...
Read MorePhD studentship available at the University of Rome at Tor Vergata
Professor Daniela Billi has an astrobiology PhD studentship on offer in her lab at the University of Rome at Tor Vergata. Two projects are proposed, both linked with microbiology experiments just last week arrived at the ISS as part of the EXPOSE-R2 series of experiments. For more information, head to this page, and click the ‘available projects’ tab.
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