Exploring space

We study the planets and solid bodies of the Solar System – and beyond
Our research tackles a great many pressing scientific questions. We explore the dynamics of Earth, survey alien landforms on Mars and other rocky bodies, determine the compositions of dust grains preserved in meteorites and formed in giant, long-dead stars, and probe the processes and phenomena we see throughout our wider patch of space to reveal the secrets of the cosmos around us.
Current and recent projects focus on:
- the Chicxulub impact that wiped out the dinosaurs;
- the resurfacing of Venus and possibility of life on Mars;
- the cosmochemistry of meteorites;
- the role of catastrophic flooding on Earth and Mars; and
- how Earth's oceans have changed through time (in collaboration with our Ocean and Climate work).
Overall, our research reveals the workings of global systems in the past, present and, by extrapolation, the future, to understand why planetary bodies are the way they are and how their habitats and inhabitants came to be.
Associated Research Groups
Associated events and seminars
You can see all previous and forthcoming seminars via the ESE Events and Seminars pages.
Associated members of staff
Professor Jan Cilliers

Professor Jan Cilliers
Chair in Mineral Processing
Professor Gareth S Collins

Professor Gareth S Collins
Professor of Planetary Science
Dr Matthew J Genge
Dr Matthew J Genge
Senior Lecturer in Earth and Planetary Science
Professor Sanjeev Gupta

Professor Sanjeev Gupta
Professor of Earth Science
Dr Kathryn Hadler

Dr Kathryn Hadler
Honorary Lecturer
Dr Philippa J Mason
Dr Philippa J Mason
Senior Lecturer
Professor Adrian R Muxworthy

Professor Adrian R Muxworthy
Professor of Earth and Planetary Magnetism
Professor Mark Rehkamper

Professor Mark Rehkamper
Professor of Isotope Geochemistry
Professor Mark A Sephton

Professor Mark A Sephton
Professor of Organic Geochemistry