Space Research & Planetary Sciences (WP)

Our research programme concentrates on topics related to the history, origin and early evolution of planetary systems. By means of in situ measurements, remote sensing observations, laboratory analysis, and numerical modeling, we investigate our own solar system with its small bodies (comets and asteroids), its planets and their atmospheres as well as extra-solar planets to unravel the physical processes underlying the formation and evolution of these systems. These investigations also include the past and present interaction of the Sun with magnetospheres and atmospheres of Earth and other bodies like comets and moons.

Events

Division Seminars

Science News

Science

Künstliche Intelligenz treibt die Entdeckung neuer Exoplaneten voran

Forschende der Universität Bern haben ein KI-Modell entwickelt, das in der Lage ist, die Architektur von Planetensystemen vorherzusagen und daraus auf das Vorhandensein von noch nicht entdeckten Planeten zu schliessen.

© UniBE / NCCR PlanetS, Illustration: Thibaut Roger

unibe.ch

University of Bern involved in NASA mission to explore the heliosphere

The University of Bern is participating in the international NASA Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe mission (IMAP), which is due to be launched no earlier than 23 September 2025.

Image: © NASA/Princeton/Patrick McPike

unibe.ch

Science

Slope Streaks on Mars – not a sign of water after all?

A new study led by the University of Bern and Brown University in the U.S. casts doubt on one of the most tantalizing clues that water might be flowing on present-day Mars. Researchers analyzed a global database of 500,000 enigmatic streaks that occur on steep Martian slopes, concluding that they’re most likely caused by dry processes rather than liquid flow.
Image: © ESA/TGO/CaSSIS CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO

unibe.ch

Science

Venus more tectonically alive than we thought

Several tectonic processes are occurring beneath the surface of Venus, according to a new study led by researchers from the University of Bern’s Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) and NASA.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech/Peter Rubin

Unibe

Open Positions

Science News

Science

Tidal forces from the Sun could have deformed cliffs on Mercury

A new study by researchers of the University of Bern shows that the hilly surface of Mercury could be influenced not only by the cooling and contraction of the planet, but also by the tidal forces of the Sun. Future analysis will draw on new data from the BepiColombo mission, which is currently on its way to Mercury. BepiColombo is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The University of Bern is involved with two instruments.

© Liliane Burkhard, Nicolas Thomas

unibe.ch

Science

Making science tangible with art

How do you make the tectonic development of the planet Mercury tangible with a piece of paper? For planetary scientist Liliane Burkhard, the answer is clear: with the means of art.

Image: © Liliane Burkhard

unibe.ch

Science

“What should I definitely not do?”

For more than five years, the Bern-based CHEOPS telescope has been providing highly precise data from space. At the beginning of 2025, Christopher Broeg took over the leadership of the mission from Willy Benz. Now the two have met for a conversation for uniAKTUELL.

Image: © unibe.ch

unibe.ch

Science

The University of Bern at Expo 2025 in Osaka

The University of Bern is represented in the Swiss Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, which officially opened yesterday. As part of the “AUGMENTED HUMAN” exhibition, two Bernese space instruments that are flying on international missions into space can be seen in the Swiss Pavilion. And the public has the opportunity to learn what comets really smell like.

Image © FDFA, Presence Switzerland / Photo: Iwan Baan

unibe.ch

Open Positions

Contact

University of Bern

Sidlerstrasse 5
3012 Bern

Phone: +41 31 684 44 11
info.space(a)unibe.ch