Project description
Material changes in ‘ocean worlds’ could reveal clues about life
Scientists have long been fascinated by ‘ocean worlds’ – icy celestial bodies that may hold subsurface liquid water that is a key ingredient for life. Moons like Europa (Jupiter), Titan and Enceladus (Saturn) and Ceres (dwarf planet) have shown evidence of water interacting with organic materials and hot rocks. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SECRECY project aims to uncover clues to the habitability of these icy worlds by studying how water-based substances travel from beneath the crust to the surface. By examining these transformations under diverse conditions and using tools like infrared and Raman spectroscopy, researchers will analyse their composition and transformation. Project findings will help interpret space mission data, paving the way for future exploration of these intriguing worlds.
Objective
"The motivation of this project is to contribute to the search and characterization for potentially habitable planetary environments. During the two last decades, missions to the outer solar system, such as Galileo to the Jupiter system, Cassini-Huygens to the Saturn system and Dawn to the main protoplanets of the asteroid belt, have discovered several ""ocean worlds"". Jupiters moon Europa, Saturns moons Titan and Enceladus, and the dwarf planet Ceres, show signs that indicate the presence of liquid water in their interiors, potentially interacting with organic compounds and hot rocks. These ""ocean worlds"" are now considered as prime astrobiological targets by the major space agencies ESA and NASA.
This project proposes a strategy to identify freshly erupted materials at the surface of these icy bodies and provide informations on their composition and on the subsurface source. Specifically, it is focused on Europa and Ceres, the most accessible targets for in-situ landing missions. For this purpose, we will experimentally study the processes that aqueous solutions of diverse compositions undergo from their emplacement in the interior of the crust at medium-high pressure and relatively low temperature, to their subsequent arrival at the surface at high vacuum and much lower temperature.
Infrared and Raman spectroscopies and mass spectrometry instruments will be used to characterize the different processes from the source conditions to the surface emplacement and subsequent alteration. These techniques are within the science payload of past, current and future missions. Therefore, the data obtained in the laboratory will be used as public databases to assist in the interpretation of spectra taken on space missions.
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Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences natural satellites
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75794 Paris
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.