The Open University

BepiColombo swings by Mercury for the final time

9 January 2025

On 8 January 2025, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission flew past Mercury for the sixth time, successfully completing the final ‘gravity assist manoeuvre’ needed to steer it into orbit around the planet in late 2026. As with BepiColombo’s previous flybys, the spacecraft’s monitoring cameras (M-CAMs) did not disappoint. “Wonderful to see” David Rothery (Professor of Planetary Geosciences) […]

Illustration of interstellar dust grain coated in water ice

Astronomers make new discovery about the grain structure of interstellar ice

4 July 2024

Astronomers, including Open University (OU) academics Helen Fraser and Hugh Dickinson and OU PhD student Zak Smith, have discovered the spectral signature of water ice that reveals new information about how ice forms and evolves during the birth of stars and planets. Their findings have been published today in the journal Nature Astronomy. A spectral […]

OU scientist to help define the science strategy for the next Japanese Mars mission

24 October 2023

Juan Alday, a scientist in the Atmospheric Research and Surface Exploration research group at The Open University (OU), has been appointed by the European Space Agency (ESA) as a member of the Science Strategy Team for Mars Science of JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration mission (MMX). The MMX mission will launch in September 2024 and is […]

AstrobiologyOU at Bluedot festival: Life in extreme weather

22 August 2023

Author: Victoria Pearson AstrobiologyOU – an Open University research group looking into life beyond earth and the challenges of astrobiology missions – were showcased this summer at the Bluedot festival, held at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Jodrell Bank Observatory. The annual festival combines live music, comedy and culture with science and space delivered […]

Physicist who found spherical meteor fragments claims they may come from an alien spaceship – here’s what to make of it

7 July 2023

Monica Grady is a professor of planetary and space sciences at The Open University. Here she reveals what she thinks of the view we may have fragments from an alien spaceship. Avi Loeb, a physicist from Harvard University in the US, has recovered 50 tiny spherical iron fragments from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean […]

Mission accomplished! Scientist’s joy at being handpicked for European Space Agency role

20 June 2023

An Open University scientist has been handpicked by the European Space Agency (ESA) and offered a Fellowship to continue her studies into how the surface of Mars is shaped by wind. Dr Elena Favaro is a postdoctoral research assistant at the OU who specialises in aeolian geomorphology – the process by which wind contributes to […]

From Army veteran to space scientist

3 October 2022

When Open University graduate Ian Muirhead isn’t searching for moons and exoplanets, he’s inspiring the next generation of space scientists to reach for the stars. It’s a career he never dreamed possible when he left school at 15 without any qualifications. Over 20 years’ on and Ian tells us he couldn’t be happier making the […]

Famous astrophysicist passes but his equation for alien intelligence is more important than ever

12 September 2022

David Rothery is a Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University and here he talks about the passing of American astrophysicist Frank Drake and the legacy he left the universe. First published in The Conversation. How many intelligent civilisations should there be in our galaxy right now? In 1961, the US astrophysicist Frank […]

Gaia mission: five insights astronomers could glean from its latest data

15 June 2022

Adam McMaster, PhD Candidate, Astronomy and Andrew Norton, Professor of Astrophysics Education, both from The Open University have written a piece for The Conversation about the new data from the Gaia mission. The European Space Agency’s (Esa) Gaia mission has just released new data. The Gaia satellite was launched in 2013, with the aim of […]

How to grow plants on the moon – OU expert’s view of new study

13 May 2022

Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at The Open University writes for The Conversation on the impact of new findings that reveal why plants don’t thrive in lunar habitats. What do you need to make your garden grow? As well as plenty of sunshine alternating with gentle showers of rain – and busy bees and […]

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Category: Space