Topic 1
To the Moon & Mars
October 19th, 2022 at 14:30 – 16:30
Egmont Palace, Brussels
To the Moon & Mars
The planet Mars has been mysterious for centuries. During the last few decades various studies have greatly advanced in understanding it. Based on this knowledge Mars scientists are ready to take the next big step – bringing Mars samples back to Earth. These samples could provide us with a key knowledge in understanding the red planet. This topic will provide you interesting insights from various professionals about the mysterious planet Mars and the Moon.
Speakers & Presentations
Carlo Iorio
Senior Researcher at Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Adjunct Professor at York University
Vinciane Debaille
FNRS Senior Researcher at Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
Sébastien Le Maistre
FED'tWIN Researcher at Royal Observatory and Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)
Cem Berk Senel
Doctoral candidate at Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB)
Emmanuelle Javaux
Professeure ordinaire/full professor at the Geology Department Director of Early Life Traces & Evolution-Astrobiology laboratory Director of UR ASTROBIOLOGY at Université de Liège (ULiège)
Going to Mars and the Moon needs studies in micro-gravity and experiments on the Moon first
Understanding Mars from Mars Sample Return
Understanding Mars from interior and rotation measurement
Understanding asteroid impacts on Earth, Mars and beyond: The moon Dimorphos
Understanding the origin and early evolution of life on Earth, and Mars?
Speakers
Going to Mars and the Moon needs studies in micro-gravity and experiments on the Moon first
Carlo Iorio
Professor at ULB
Carlo Saverio lorio currently works at the Faculty of Applied Sciences Service de Chimie-Physique, Université Libre de Bruxelles. Carlo Saverio does research in flow chemistry, nanotechnology and sonochemistry. His scientific developments take advantage of all the microgravity-platforms proposed by the European Space Agency: parabolic flights, sounding rockets, satellites, drop towers, International Space Station (ISS).
Understanding Mars from Mars Sample Return
Vinciane Debaille
FNRS Senior Researcher at Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
Vinciane Debaille is a geologist by training, and more particularly a geochemist specialized in the chemical composition of rocks to date them and understand how they formed. She is particularly interested in the study of meteorites of different origins, coming from asteroids, but also from the Moon and Mars. She participated in several meteorite collection missions in Antarctica. She is involved in the Perseverance lander team and is preparing the sample return mission.
Understanding Mars from interior and rotation measurement
Sébastien Le Maistre
FED'tWIN Researcher at Royal Observatory and Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)
Sébastien Le Maistre is an aeronautical and aerospace engineer by training, and more particularly, a specialist in the analysis of radio communications between Earth and Martian landers. Despite the distance between the two planets, which can be larger than 350 million kilometers sometimes, these radio links are enabled by the high performances of the Earth giant antennas (35 to 70 meters in diameter) positioned at the four corners of our planet. He is presently the principal investigator (PI) of theLaRa project (Lander Radioscience) that should have been launched to Mars this year, and is working on the InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) data.
Understanding asteroid impacts on Earth, Mars and beyond: The moon Dimorphos
Cem Berk Senel
Doctoral candidate at Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB)
Cem Berk Senel is a PhD candidate at Reference Systems and Planetology Department, Royal Observatory Belgium, working on the atmospheric evolution after asteroid and cometary impacts as well as on modelling of past and present climate of Earth and Mars.
He has been studying the aftermath of gigantic impacts (such as the dinosaur-killing Chicxulub asteroid 66 million years ago) towards the Near Earth Objects (NEOs) for planetary defense missions.
He is the co-lead developer of MarsWRF planetary atmosphere model.
He is currently a scientific team member of NASA’s InSight atmospheric working group to explore the Martian atmospheric turbulence.
He is involved in ESA’s Hera impact modeling group to model the impact cratering on Dimorphos (the moon of 65803 Didymos) within the framework of NASA’s DART (double asteroid redirection test) mission.
Understanding the origin and early evolution of life on Earth, and Mars?
Emmanuelle Javaux
Professeure ordinaire/full professor at the Geology Department Director of Early Life Traces & Evolution-Astrobiology laboratory Director of UR ASTROBIOLOGY
Emmanuelle Javaux is a biologist with a PhD in Earth Sciences, full professor in the Geology Department at the University of Liege. She leads the Early Life Traces & Evolution-Astrobiology laboratory and is director of the UR Astrobiology. She is Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium since 2014 and has been awarded several prizes as well as an ERC Grant from the European Research Council. Her research is highly interdisciplinary and focus on the first 3 billion years of Life evolution, from its earliest traces of life to the diversification of complex life, and on the preservation and characterization of biosignatures for paleobiology and astrobiology. She is Co-Investigator of the CLUPI close imager onboard the ESA mission ExoMars and a member of the ESA-NASA Mars Sample Return rock sample team. She is Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium since 2014 and has been awarded several prizes as well as an ERC Grants from the European Research Council.
"Where do we come from? are we alone in the universe? such fundamental questions can be addressed by exploring the first billion years of Earth and Mars rock record. These precious archives preserve clues for understanding habitability and the conditions for Life to emerge in the Universe. They require multidisciplinary investigations, missions, and protection."
Chairs & Co-chairs
Veronique Dehant
Véronique Dehant works at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, where she is responsible for the Operational Directorate "Reference Systems and Planetology". She is also Extraordinary Professor at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain). She is an Academician (Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium, Science Class) since 2010, Foreign Member of the Paris Academy of Sciences since 2016 and has been awarded several prizes as well as two ERC Grants from the European Research Council. She is involved in processing data from instruments in several space missions, in particular in the InSight mission (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) currently on the surface of Mars.
Prof. Dr. Ir. Vladimir Pletser
Vladimir Pletser is Visiting Professor at the Scientific Adviser at the Technology and Engineering Centre for Space Utilization (CSU) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. He supports the preparation of scientific experiments in microgravity for the future Chinese Space Station and for aircraft parabolic flights. He worked previously from 1985 till early 2016 as senior Physicist-Engineer at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) of ESA. He is an expert in microgravity during aircraft parabolic flights for which he holds a world record. He was also astronaut candidate for Belgium and participated in international campaigns of crewed Mars mission simulations.
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