Edgar Steenstra from TU Delft has been awarded the Vening Meinesz Prize for Earth and Environmental Sciences. He receives the €10,000 prize for his innovative research on the formation and evolution of planets, particularly Venus and the Moon, as well as his role in international planetary missions. The award was presented on 20 March 2025 during the 21st NWO NAC in Noordwijkerhout.
Simulating Extreme Environments on Venus
Since 2024, Steenstra has been an Assistant Professor at TU Delft, where he is currently establishing his own research group. This has been made possible by a €2.2 million ERC Starting Grant to set up a laboratory that simulates the extreme environments of Venus. His project contributes to the preparations for future ESA and NASA missions to Venus—research that is also relevant to climate studies on Earth—while enhancing Dutch scientific involvement in planetary research. Additionally, he leads experimental studies on the interaction between lava and planetary surfaces, co-funded by an NWO M-Investments grant. The selection committee was particularly impressed by his independence and autonomy as a researcher.
As part of the Delft Planetary Laboratories, Edgar is currently building the VenusVolAtmos experimental setup. This setup enables high-temperature and high-pressure conditions to be simulated, replicating those found on the surface of Venus (470 degrees Celsius, 90 bars) and in its interior (up to 1500 degrees Celsius and 200 bars). It can also be used for other high-temperature, high-pressure applications.