Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life on Earth or in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in the Solar System and habitable planets outside the Solar System (exoplanets).

Professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics, discovering the secrets of stellar evolution and being involved in space missions from concept until science output. Guiding a team of young researchers to start their career and discover their live path. Mesmerising students with the wonders of the Universe. Traveling all over Belgium and the world to talk to scientists, engineers, school students, and the general public about my passion. (Katrijn Clémer)

The Biochem Profile experiment tests blood and urine samples obtained from astronauts before, during and after spaceflight. Specific proteins and chemicals in the samples are used as biomarkers, or indicators of health. Post-flight analysis yields a database of samples and test results, which scientists can use to study the effects of spaceflight on the body.

Cultivating plants for food was a significant step in the history of mankind. Growing plants for food in space and on other planets will be necessary for exploration of our Universe. Stems and leaves grow towards the light and against gravity, while roots follow gravity. What role does gravity play in this process and what can we learn from growing plants in weightlessness? Which unknown aspects of plants will be discovered by this kind of research? Research in space focuses on the Arabidopsis thaliana plant, a model plant used as a reference for biologists. It has already been shown that plants 'feel' gravity at a cellular level, mainly in cells located at the tip of the root. Experiments on the International Space Station are investigating how this process works, from the primary step of sensing gravity to investigating how the whole plant responds.

Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time. Climate models are used for a variety of purposes from study of the dynamics of the weather and climate system to projections of future climate.

The single location where we can learn the most about our planet is found nowhere on Earth but high up above it. The ability to fly satellites into space has changed all our lives in many ways, but the single greatest innovation has been the availability of new ways of seeing the world that satellites leave behind. Early pictures of the Earth seen from space became icons of the Space Age, and encouraged an increased awareness of the precious nature of our common home. Today, images of our planet from orbit are acquired continuously; they have become powerful scientific tools to enable better understanding and improved management of the Earth and its environment.

There are several methods for analyzing the dynamic behavior of fluids under normal gravity conditions on Earth. A common assumption in such methods is that the free surface of the fluid is flat and at right angles to the direction in which gravity is acting, i.e. normal to the gravity vector. In this case, surface tension does not contribute to the fluid's dynamic behavior. However, this assumption is no longer valid if gravity is significantly reduced, as is the case for a satellite in orbit.
An indicator of the importance of the surface tension is the so-called 'Bond number', which is a measure of the relative magnitudes of the gravitational and capillary forces. It is proportional to the gravity level, the fluid density and the square of the characteristic length of the fluid's free surface, and is inversely proportional to the surface tension of the fluid. If the Bond number is much greater than 1, the surface- tension effects can be neglected; if it is much less than 1, the gravity forces can be neglected.

Geology no longer is the study of the Earth. Rocks are found throughout the universe on other planets, asteroids and comets and as debris ranging in size down to the tiniest pieces of stardust.

Geophysics is concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the Earth's shape, its gravitational and magnetic fields, its internal structure and composition, its dynamics and their surface expression in plate tectonics, the generation of magmas, volcanism and rock formation.

Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used when either the magnitude of gravitational field or the properties of matter responsible for its creation.

The significantly reduced gravity environment of space allows unique science experiments to be performed. In most cases, these experiments cannot be done on the ground. On Earth, a number of gravity-driven phenomena are operative which often lead to some unwanted or deleterious effects during materials processing. The phenomena being referred to are buoyancy, convection, sedimentation and hydrostatic pressure variation and they affect virtually all processes involving fluid phases. In a reduced gravity environment, on board the International Space Station for example, the four physical phenomena are significantly suppressed. This means that objects do not experience any buoyancy forces when immersed in liquid, heavy solid particles do not sediment in a liquid, gravity-driven convection does not occur when a liquid is heated and the pressure in a liquid column does not increase with depth. Under these very different conditions, it is possible to perform carefully controlled scientific experiments that will give us greater insight into the way that crystalline and amorphous materials form. Researchers will then truly understand how the detailed microstructure of metals develop and how gravity influences industrial processes, such as casting of alloys or semiconductor crystal growth.

The Applications in Precalculus Series uses functions to represent not only algebraic and geometric situations, but those involving probability, statistics, trigonometry and calculus. Math is used in Space Science to calculate routes for satellites, rockets and space probes. In addition, math is used in the global positioning system, for transmitting messages when data is compressed, and for coding the images and element modeling to build spacecraft. As a modern example, astronauts use math to direct a space shuttle that moves at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour to a space station for a rendezvous. Complex mathematical calculations must be performed so that the two objects moving at high speed can meet at one point without causing damage to each other. Modern mathematical tools such as error analysis and the maximum principle help optimize trajectories of spacecraft. Source: Gaurav Kirti, studied Science at B.D.M. International

Microgravity is studied to learn what happens to people and equipment in space. Microgravity affects the human body in several ways. For example, muscles and bones can become weaker without gravity making them work as hard. Astronauts who live on the space station spend months in microgravity. Astronauts who travel to Mars also would spend months in microgravity traveling to and from the Red Planet. Scientists and engineers must learn about the effects of microgravity to keep astronauts safe and healthy and equipment functional. In addition, many things seem to act differently in microgravity. Fire burns differently. Without the pull of gravity, flames are rounder. Crystals grow better. Without gravity, their shapes are more perfect. Various experiments are performed to study microgravity.

Source: NASA

Optics as a discipline is all about understanding and manipulating light (or more broadly electromagnetic radiation (from X-Rays through to far-Infra-red and sub-mm waves).  We are all intimately familiar with our eyes as a vitally important imaging and sensor system (with our brain) that enables us to operate in a complex world. In a similar way spacecraft employ many different types of optical imaging and sensing systems (spectrometers) to observe and measure the Earth and the universe at large. Optical engineering is an essential capability to enable us to develop, build, test, fly and use optical instrumentation in space for the benefit of all. Think about weather satellites as a familiar example of how dependent we have become on the availability of reliable (optical) data from space. In this field of optical engineering at ESA we continuously push and enable industry and research entities in Europe to develop the best possible optical technologies for the next generation of spacecraft. Source: ESA

Space weather is concerned with the time varying conditions within the Solar System, emphasizing the space surrounding the Earth, and includes solar wind, magnetosphere, ionosphere and thermosphere.

Seismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other planet-like bodies. The field also includes studies of earthquake environmental effects, such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, oceanic, atmospheric, and artificial processes (such as explosions).

The field is covering measurement, modelling, prediction, propagation problems, and forecasting techniques pertinent to fields and wave propagation - including antennas, signals and systems, in the terrestrial and space environment and radio in radio astronomy.

Collecting and interpreting information about the environment and the surface of the earth from a distance, primarily by sensing radiation that is naturally emitted or reflected by the earth's surface or from the atmosphere, or by sensing signals transmitted from a device and reflected back to it. Examples of remote-sensing methods include satellite imaging, radar and aerial photography.

Astrochemistry is the scientific discipline – at the crossroad between astrophysics and chemistry – that deals with the study of physico-chemical processes in astrophysical environments. It investigates the way molecules form, transform and are destroyed in interstellar, circumstellar and protostellar media. Astrochemistry addresses notably the ambitous issue of molecular complexity, from the most basic molecules to prebiotic species required for the apparition of life in the Universe.

Major space observatories are presently observing (cf. HST, Gaia, XMM-Newton, JUICE, …) and are planned to observe (cf. JWST, EUCLID, JUNO, PLATO, …) the various constituents of the Universe in different spectral bands (X-rays, visible, mid-IR, …). Space astronomy thus relies on the formation and training of astronomers and engineers in space science and space engineering.

To date, it is beyond doubt that spaceflight affects the human body. Besides exposure to increased cosmic radiation levels and weightlessness, health problems can be caused by psychological stress including isolation and confinement. These stressors have a clear negative impact on the astronaut's health. The precise nature of all the different health effects is unknown and multiple underlying causes might be involved. In this regard, future space exploration will help to answer many critical questions. Understanding the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms response to physical and psychological space flight stressors would help to further understand space flight induced health effects, to develop countermeasures and to improve Earth-based pathologies and medicine. These research projects address to disciplines of life sciences, (radio) biology and microgravity and require a Master in cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology or biomedical sciences to be completed by a PhD thesis.

Celestial mechanics deals with the motions of celestial objects. It applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to produce ephemeris data. It deals in particular with the orbits of these objects as well as of artificial satellites.

Like all scientists, earth and space scientists rely on data to help them understand scientific phenomena, and ultimately to draw conclusions about scientific occurrences. Data is another way of saying facts or statistics that are collected about a particular subject. Space scientists often don't have the luxury of traveling into space to collect their data directly, so they will remotely collect it through the use of satellites and space probes. Meteorologists and geographers also will remotely collect their data, using satellites and other weather monitoring equipment. Source: https://study.com/

Fluid dynamics deals with fluid flow, liquids and gases in motion. Fluid dynamics offers a systematic structure that embraces empirical and semi-empirical laws derived from flow measurement and used to solve practical problems. The solution to a fluid dynamics problem typically involves calculating various properties of the fluid, such as flow velocity, pressure, density, and temperature, as functions of space and time.

Geodesy deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal motion, tides, and polar motion.

Geomatics is a scientific/engineering discipline focussing on handling geospatial data. It includes tools and techniques related to the acquisition, the storage, the process and the delivery of spatially referenced information. Geomatics involves numerous technologies such as Land Surveying, Remote Sensing, Cartography, GIS (Geographic Information Systems), GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) and Photogrammetry.

Scientists calculate how much the ice sheet is growing or shrinking from the changes in surface height that are measured by the satellite altimeters. In locations where the amount of new snowfall accumulating on an ice sheet is not equal to the ice flow downward and outward to the ocean, the surface height changes and the ice-sheet mass grows or shrinks.

Fife sciences in the context of the space research and innovation projects and activities take into consideration various aspects such as prebiotic chemistry and origin of life, life in extreme environments, habitability in the solar system and beyond, ecological life support and sustainability, functionality, monitoring and control of ecosystem in space environment, effects of space flight conditions on human bodies, non-cancer health effects of space radiation, space flight, space radiation risk assessment and countermeasures, gravitational effects in biological systems, effects of space radiation in living organisms at the cellular and molecular levels and many more.

Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a vehicle from one place to another. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, marine navigation, aeronautic navigation, and space navigation.

Weather and air quality forecasts are based on specialised Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models ingesting observations of the atmosphere, including trace gases and particles, whilst also taking into account natural and anthropogenic emissions. Numerical weather prediction uses mathematical models of the atmosphere and oceans to predict the weather based on current weather conditions. Mathematical models based on the same physical principles can be used to generate either short-term weather forecasts or longer-term climate predictions; the latter are widely applied for understanding and projecting climate change. Manipulating the vast datasets and performing the complex calculations necessary to modern numerical weather prediction requires some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world.

A numerical simulation is a calculation that is run on a computer following a program that implements a mathematical model for a physical system. Numerical simulations are required to study the behaviour of systems whose mathematical models are too complex to provide analytical solutions, as in most nonlinear systems. Numerical simulation is a powerful tool to study many of critically important processes connected with the motion of hypervelocity body in planetary atmosphere. Sources: nature.com and iopscience.iop.org

Image result for Physics in space understanding the composition of stars and planets and how they form allows astrobiologists to talk competently about the elements that may be present in different parts of the solar system. The technologies we use to communicate with astronauts also came as a result of discoveries in physics. For example, astrophysics is a branch of space science that applies the laws of physics and chemistry to seek to understand the universe and our place in it. The field explores topics such as the birth, life and death of stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae and other objects in the universe. Sources: study.com and space.com

Satellite Navigation is a technology aiming at providing geospatial positioning with global coverage which is based on a global infrastructure deployed on Earth and in Space. Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as GPS, Galileo or GLONASS, allow users equipped with a receiver to accurately determine their location by exploiting radio signals emitted by orbiting satellites. GNSS are of ever-increasing importance in our modern society and is connected to numerous other disciplines and technologies such as Geodesy, Electronics, Electromagnetism, Telecommunications, Spacecraft Engineering, Geomatics, Space Weather, Space Physics, Aerospace Engineering, Celestial Mechanics, etc.

Planetology or Planetary science is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), moons, and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes that form them.

Plasma physics is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the universe. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of topics, such as heliophysics which includes the solar physics of the sun: the solar wind, planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres, auroras, cosmic rays, and synchrotron radiation. Space physics is a fundamental part of the study of space weather and has important implications not only to understanding the universe, but also to practical everyday life, including the operation of communications and weather satellites. Space physics is distinct from other fields of astrophysics which study similar phenomena, in that space physics utilizes in situ measurements from high altitude rockets and spacecraft.

Volcanology is the study of volcanoes, their eruption, lava, magma, and the related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena.