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An exceptional scholarship for an innovative project

Publication Date

20 November 2023

Category

Research

Recognition for ambition

ERC programme and "Consolidator" grants

The ERC programme, internationally recognised for its selectivity, supports high-level exploratory research with one ambition: to push back the frontiers of knowledge.

“Consolidator” scolarships are awarded to PhD researchers with between 7 and 12 years’ experience. They represent a major milestone in their careers. Applicants are assessed on the basis of the scientific excellence of their research proposal, the quality of their professional background, and the relevance and feasibility of the project. Only the most promising researchers and projects are selected.

Naomi Morduch’s 5-year, €2.3 million grant will enable her to put together a team of PhD students, researchers and engineers. Together, they will work on an innovative project that will help provide geotechnical models adapted to extraterrestrial environments for those involved in planetary exploration.

GRAVITE programme following on from Naomi Murdoch's space bodies

The GRAVITE project, which will start in 2024 and run for 5 years, is a continuation of Naomi Murdoch’s work on the geotechnics of space objects.

Murdoch, who holds a master’s degree in astrophysics and a doctorate in planetary physics and sciences, has made an active contribution to several international space missions as a planetary scientist in the Space Systems for Planetology and Applications (SSPA) research group at ISAE-SUPAERO. From NASA’s DART, InSight and Mars 2020 missions to ESA’s Hera and JAXA’s MMX, she has acquired recognised expertise.

For the past 10 years, the study of the behaviour and mechanical properties of the surface of planetary bodies has been at the heart of its research. Today, in both terrestrial geophysics and planetary exploration, different techniques are used to determine the mechanical properties of a soil in situ. “With the GRAVITE project, our aim is to test the limits of existing techniques and develop new models that take into account the diverse nature of planetary surfaces and the reduced-gravity environment. To do this, we are going to develop a variable-gravity machine”, explains the researcher.

With this machine at the cutting edge of planetary science, the team will be able to carry out experiments in a vacuum and under a wide range of gravity conditions, down to levels a thousand times weaker than Earth’s gravity, to simulate the surfaces of small bodies (asteroids, comets, small moons, etc.). The researcher’s aim is to provide those involved in planetary exploration with geotechnical models adapted to extraterrestrial environments.

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