Current Research Projects

Here you will find all projects and research interests of the current members of the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH). For an overview of our main research questions and how each project relates to those questions, check the Research Clusters page. Projects of former CSH members can be found in the archive at the end of the page.

This page is currently under construction. More information will be available soon.

Astrobiology

© NCCR Genesis

NCCR Genesis | Demory, Vorburger, Riedo, Frölicher

NCCR Genesis offers a transformative interdisciplinary approach that brings together physics, chemistry, biology, and Earth sciences to investigate the conditions and mechanisms that enable life to arise, evolve, and persist. A central objective will be the development of robust biosignatures and innovative methods to detect them, whether through remote observations of distant worlds or direct in situ measurements. The University of Bern leads four of the 20 projects making up the research of the NCCR’s Phase I.

Astrobiology, Spectropolarimetry

SenseLife | Demory, Fatton, Patty, Grone, Brandenburg, Nivlet, Schroffenegger

One of the most intriguing questions is whether life exists beyond Earth. To date, no direct evidence has been found, yet habitable conditions exist elsewhere in the Universe. SenseLife develops an advanced optical instrument, a full-Stokes spectropolarimeter called FlyPol. FlyPol analyzes the polarization state of light and searches for distinct polarization features produced by biological matter. In an interdisciplinary effort, we combine microbiology, optics, and engineering to search for microscopic life on planetary bodies within our Solar System.

Exoplanets

© ESA/ATG medialab

CHEOPS | Broeg, Fortier, Simon, Peel, Frey

CHEOPS is the first mission dedicated to search for transits of exoplanets by means of ultra-high precision photometry on bright stars already known to host planets. It provides the unique capability of determining accurate radii for a subset of those planets for which the mass has already been estimated from ground-based spectroscopic surveys, providing on-the-fly characterization of exoplanets located almost everywhere in the sky and therefore prime targets for future instruments suited to the spectroscopic characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres.

Exoplanet Atmospheres, Atmospheric Chemistry, Prebiotic Chemistry

© Marrick Braam

Prebiotic Chemistry in Exoplanet Environments | Braam

The diversity of temperate rocky exoplanets provides opportunities to study environments where life might arise. In an interdisciplinary effort combining exoplanetary science, climate modelling, and prebiotic chemistry, we aim to understand the environmental conditions on these worlds, assess whether they can support prebiotic chemistry, and explore how their atmospheres may be characterised by future space-based observatories.