Our science portfolio is broad and we focus on a variety of topics ranging from planetary surface processes and materials, planet and moon interiors, to planet formation.
We design and develop scientific instruments and trajectories for future space missions aimed at exploring the characteristics of other planets and moons in our solar system. In addition to upstream engineering, we also work on downstream applications such as scientific analyses of mission data obtained on various planetary bodies, including Io, Enceladus, Venus, Mars and Mercury. To support our work we make use of dedicated facilities for both numerical, laboratory and field applications.
Planetary surface processes and materials
The surface materials and processes of objects in our Solar Systems, allow us to establish the history and evolution of these planetary bodies. We are targeting icy and rocky objects and investigate their properties by means of laboratory experiments, modelling, and through ground and space-based observations. – continue reading
Planet and moon interiors
Planets and moons experience rotation, tidal dissipation and deformation because of their uneven topography. We develop numerical models for these processes with analytical and finite element methods. Together with observations of their gravitational field and shape, the models can tell us about the structure of these bodies and their evolution. – continue reading
Solar System Dynamics
Various techniques are used to measure the dynamics of planetary spacecraft and natural solar system bodies. Our focus is on creating novel analysis tools, tracking methods and data fusion techniques. The developments we make will allow current and future missions to provide improved estimates of geodetic parameters of planetary bodies, such as gravity field coefficients, rotational variations and tidal parameters, as well as natural satellite ephemerides. – continue reading
Planet formation
Based on studies of planets in the solar system, and exoplanet beyond, we can study planet formation. Our focus is on the very early stages (dust coagulation) to the very late stages of disc-planet interactions and planet migration. The basic tools used are hydrodynamical simulations, but the embedding of this work at TU Delft also allows us to link up with other modelling and laboratory studies. – more will follow soon
Our lab clusters: a virtual tour
Join us on a virtual lab tour to get to know some of our people and experience the labs they work in. The video below showcases the work at the department of Space engineering, for other departments at our faculty follow this link.