The Open University

Newly detected green light similar to the Aurora Borealis observed around Mars

15 June 2020

Open University (OU) scientists, as part of an international team, have identified a never-before-seen, green glow surrounding Mars with the same characteristics as the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. Using the NOMAD-UVIS instrument onboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), a joint space mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos, […]

Mars and the ice-filled crater on its surface

26 April 2018

An ice-filled Martian crater is visible in the first photographs of Mars transmitted from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO). After a year of extremely dangerous aerobraking, the ExoMars TGO began transmitting photographs of the surface from its camera system, known as CaSSIS (Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System). The first photograph taken by the ExoMars TGO […]

Search for methane on Mars starts as ExoMars Mission reaches final orbit

13 March 2018

After a year of extremely dangerous aerobraking, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) will reach its final orbit and start collecting data from the atmosphere of Mars. Onboard the Orbiter is an instrument developed by academics from The Open University. Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD) will ‘sniff’ the atmosphere for methane – a […]

OU to host Astrobiology Society of Britain Conference 2017

28 August 2017

The Astrobiology Society of Britain (ASB) Conference series continues its objective of education and outreach for UK astrobiology research with its seventh annual conference. Hosted at the OU in Milton Keynes, ASB7 will focus on habitability beyond the Earth. The Conference will begin at 10:30 on Wednesday 13 September 2017, with talks on biosignatures, ground-based […]

OU academic hunts for Martians with BBC Radio 4

6 March 2017

As part of a special week of Mars programmes on BBC Radio 4, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, Monica Grady, presents a 30 minute special programme about the search for life on the Red Planet on Monday 6 March 2017, 21:00. In Hunting the Martians, Professor Grady explores the balance of evidence for Mars […]

Dr Manish Patel in the OU's Hypervelocity Impact Lab.

Man on a mission: How OU academic launched a career in space

15 October 2016

Dr Manish Patel was inspired by space at a young age; venturing out in the middle of the night stargazing with his dad and his telescope. He studied an MPhys in Physics and Space Science at the University of Kent, more out of interest than as a career. After that, in what he describes as “a […]

ExoMars Schiaparelli Lander simulation on Mars

OU prepares for first successful landing on Mars

13 October 2016

Academics from the OU will be among those eagerly anticipating the first ever successful landing by European space scientists on Mars. The team of scientists from the OU are part of the European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars Mission, which will discover if methane gas exists in the atmosphere and below the surface. This will help scientists […]

Three OU scientists in front of a computer screen

Sniffing out life on Mars: mid-cruise check-out (and it’s 1-0 to England)

14 June 2016

Data is currently being received and reviewed from the ExoMars Mission – the launch of a spacecraft in March to demonstrate Europe’s first ever landing on Mars later this year, and an attempt to sniff out signs of life on the Red Planet. The ExoMars Orbiter is carrying an instrument with significant OU involvement which […]

Dr Manish Patel in the recording studio.

Ground control to Major Manish. OU academic to record single for space mission

1 April 2016

There has been Band Aid, USA for Africa and Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band. But today a new name is being added to the list of legendary charity single artists. Manish Patel, Senior Lecturer in Space Science at The Open University, is putting aside his academic research and picking up the microphone to record […]

How the ExoMars mission could sniff out life on Mars – and what to do next

16 March 2016

“It (could be) life Jim, but (perhaps) not as we know it.” This is not just a sci-fi catchphrase, but also something some planetary scientists have uttered in response to the discovery of methane in Mars’ atmosphere. That’s right – scientists believe that some kind of past or present microbial lifeform on Mars could have […]

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