Networks

The Institute of Planetary Research is involved in various national and European networks.

DFG SPP 1992

One of the most exciting recent discoveries in astronomy is the existence of a huge variety of extrasolarplanets orbiting other stars, including numerous multi-planet systems. Exoplanets can be very different to those found in our Solar System, and range from the so-called "Hot Jupiter" and "mini-Neptune" gas planets to large rocky planets ("super-"Earths).This Priority Program (SPP) aims to explore such diversity and understand its origins. The SPP will make substantial contributions to answering the following fundamental questions:What does the diversity of exoplanets tell us about their formation processes and the evolution of planets and planetary systems?What can we learn about the astrophysical conditions necessary to harbour life and are these conditions common in our Milky Way?To understand the diversity and complexity of exoplanets requires combined efforts across disciplines, linking observational planet detection and characterization to theory. The German research community already has the key elements necessary for such a concerted effort.

DFG TRR 170

The major theme of the collaborative research centre TRR 170 'Late Accretion onto Terrestrial Planets' is to understand the late growth history of the terrestrial planets, from the last giant collisions with Moon- to Mars-sized planetary embryos to the subsequent late bombardment with smaller objects. This period of planet formation is critically important for understanding the formation of the terrestrial planets and their chemical differentiation, and for constraining the parameters that controlled their subsequent evolution. To address these questions and improve our current understanding of the late growth history of the Earth, its Moon, and other terrestrial planets from 4.5 to 3.8 billion years ago, TRR 170 applies a multidisciplinary approach that combines expertise in geochemistry and petrology, remote sensing and planetary geology, and geodynamic and impact modelling.

DFG FOR 2440

The Research Unit aims at improving the understanding of the composition and structure of planetary interiors through an interdisciplinary approach, involving experiments, theory, and modeling activities. We will study the physical properties of rock-forming minerals and complex molecular mixtures, which are relevant for the classes of planets which include most of the detected planets: super-Earths and Neptune-sized planets. Experimentally, structural properties and phase stabilities will be investigated using novel methods of high pressure and plasma physics enabling to access the pressure-temperature regime relevant for deep planetary interiors. Simultaneously, ab initio simulations will be performed in order to predict the thermophysical properties of these materials for a wide range of pressure and temperature. These simulations will be benchmarked by experiments, but will also be important for the preparation and evaluation of the proposed experiments. The acquired data will be used to constrain new models for the interior and the evolution of super-Earths and Neptune-like planets and for the evaluation of a proposed new observable, the tidal Love number k2;f as a measure for the central mass concentration. The modeling results including the tidal Love number shall be applied to evaluate observational data from running and future space missions such as GAIA, TESS, CHEOPS und PLATO 2.0.

Europlanet 2024 Forschungsinfrastruktur (RI)

The Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) provides free access to the world’s largest collection of planetary simulation and analysis facilities, data services and tools, a ground-based observational network and programme of community support activities. The institute participates with the Planetary Spectroscopy Laboratory and the Planetary Simulation Laboratory.

Geo.X

network for all those whose research or teaching relates to these topics, facilitating inter- and transdisciplinary approaches. Our network activities focus on developing collaborative projects, promoting the next scientific generation, fostering synergies in teaching, and shared use of scientific infrastructure.

EAI

The European Astrobiology Institute (EAI) is a consortium of European research and higher education institutions and organisations as well as other stakeholders aiming to carry out research, training, outreach and dissemination activities in astrobiology in a comprehensive and coordinated manner and thereby securing a leading role for the European Research Area in the field. The European Astrobiology Institute (EAI) is a consortium of European research and higher education institutions and organisations as well as other stakeholders aiming to carry out research, training, outreach and dissemination activities in astrobiology in a comprehensive and coordinated manner and thereby securing a leading role for the European Research Area in the field.

EXOWORLD

Understanding the evolution of EXOplanets and towards habitable WORLDs (EXOWORLD) is a consortium comprises 12 organisations from 8 countries and it will leverage interdisciplinary and international expertise to study the diversity of exoplanets. The objective of EXOWORLD is to develop novel detection, characterisation and statistical techniques for understanding the fundamental physics which drives the evolution of planetary systems and find out what set of conditions lead to a habitable world. The EXOWORLD project is supported by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Programme Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges (Project ID: 101086149; CORDIS).