Exploring space

We study the planets and solid bodies of the Solar System – and beyond

Our research tackles a great many pressing scientific questions. We explore the dynamics of Earth, survey alien landforms on Mars and other rocky bodies, determine the compositions of dust grains preserved in meteorites and formed in giant, long-dead stars, and probe the processes and phenomena we see throughout our wider patch of space to reveal the secrets of the cosmos around us. 

Current and recent projects focus on:

  • the Chicxulub impact that wiped out the dinosaurs;
  • the resurfacing of Venus and possibility of life on Mars;
  • the cosmochemistry of meteorites;
  • the role of catastrophic flooding on Earth and Mars; and
  • how Earth's oceans have changed through time (in collaboration with our Ocean and Climate work).

Overall, our research reveals the workings of global systems in the past, present and, by extrapolation, the future, to understand why planetary bodies are the way they are and how their habitats and inhabitants came to be.

Associated events and seminars

You can see all previous and forthcoming seminars via the ESE Events and Seminars pages.

Associated members of staff

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