The mission of the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) is to foster dialogue and interactions between the various scientific disciplines interested in the formation, detection and characterization of other worlds within and beyond the Solar System, our search for life elsewhere in the Universe, and its implications for disciplines outside of the sciences. Our members, affiliates and collaborators include astronomers, astrophysicists and astrochemists, atmospheric, climate and planetary scientists, geologists and geophysicists, biochemists and philosophers. We are home to the CSH and Bernoulli Fellowships, which host young, dynamic and talented researchers from all over the world to conduct independent research. We actively run a series of programs to stimulate interdisciplinary research within the University of Bern, Switzerland, including collaborations and/or open dialogue with Medicine and Philosophy. We have an active tie with similar centers in Switzerland: Life in the Universe Center (LUC) in Geneva, Center for the Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL) in Zurich. We are active in scientific mediation and outreach activities with the general public and in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in science.
Expo 2025 Osaka
At the Swiss Pavilion in the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, JAXA and the Center for Space and Habitability hosted a special event titled "From the Moon to comets: take a walk!". Many different people poured in, from families to space enthusiasts. Together with researchers from the University of Bern, the University of Tokyo, Kyoto Sangyo University and the JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), the day was spend exploring the mysteries of space. Click here to take a walk with them!
Opportunities
The CSH welcomes ERC and SNSF Starting Grant applications. Successful candidates will be eligible to apply for extra funding from the CSH (up to 200'000 CHF) to support interdisciplinary research.
Solar System
Several tectonic processes are occurring beneath the surface of Venus, according to a new study led by researchers from the University of Bern’s Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) and NASA. They found that many of the numerous “coronae” scattered all over Venus’ globe are associated with gravity field perturbations, hinting at the sub-surface tectonic processes. This surprising result, contradicting original assumptions about Venus’ interior being tectonically “dead”, was discovered using archive data from NASA’s Magellan mission. Congratulations to Anna Gülcher, Deputy Director of the Center for Space and Habitability, for those results.
Art Space Research BepiColombo
How do you make the tectonic development of the planet Mercury tangible with a piece of paper? For planetary scientist Liliane Burkhard, the answer is clear: with the means of art.
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