From the search for water on the moon to what Titan can tell us about early life on Earth – the latest episode of CORDIScovery explores the ‘final frontier’

The push to take commercial, manned flights into space is gaining momentum. While the very start of space tourism might be unfolding over the coming months, the European Space Agency (ESA) has just delivered their lunar lander to NASA. A key part of the agency’s Astrobotic mission, the aim is to put the spectrometer to work later in 2021. With the goal of developing the first long-term presence on the Moon, ESA is joining forces with NASA and other partners to open up lunar space exploration to everyone.

Space

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It’s an exciting time to be involved in space research. New technology and greater computing power are providing answers that previously seemed out of our reach.

What can distant planets and their satellite moons tell us about the origins of life on Earth? Is there enough water on the moon to support longer, manned missions? Are there lunar sources of oxygen that could make the moon a gateway to our Solar system? And beyond the moon: can we look to Titan to gain an insight into our own origins? And how can we build on what we know about the Earth’s geology to better understand Mars and other planets?

Host Abigail Acton is joined by three EU-funded researchers to delve into these questions and share their insights into the challenges they have faced and their hopes for the role their work can play in the future of space exploration.

Jeremi Gancet is responsible for the Technologies, Applications and Research Division at Space Applications Services in Belgium. His project is designing a new, lunar rover and sensors – what are they hoping to find? Nathalie Carrasco, professor in planetary science at the University of Paris-Saclay, is mimicking the atmosphere of Titan to trace the origins of life on Earth, what has her work revealed? And Stephanie Werner, professor of geophysics and planetary science at the University of Oslo, has almost completed a database of the composition of rocks on Earth which will be used to profile rocks on other planets, Was Mars ever habitable? Its geology can provide a clue.

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Keywords

CORDIScovery, CORDIS, space exploration, the Moon, Mars, Titan