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.
Mars CaSSiS
A new study led by the University of Bern and Brown University in the U.S. casts doubt on one of the most tantalizing clues that water might be flowing on present-day Mars. Researchers analyzed a global database of 500,000 enigmatic streaks that occur on steep Martian slopes, concluding that they’re most likely caused by dry processes rather than liquid flow. Congratulations to Valentin Bickel, CSH Fellow for these results!
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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