Evolution and detectability of organic molecules on planetary-and cometary surfaces

Séminaire IPAG de Olivier Poch (CSH, University of Bern), jeudi 9 mars 2017 à 11h00, IPAG seminar room

I will present my activities relative to the questions of the detection, the evolution, and the role of organic molecules at the surfaces of planets, comets and icy satellites. I will describe experimental laboratory simulations, performed with analogues of astrophysical surfaces, whose results support space missions (MSL, Rosetta) and astronomical observations (SPHERE). I will describe sublimation experiments of analogues of cometary ices, showing how organic molecules can influence the microstructure and the spectro-photometry of surfaces. I will also present an ongoing work on the spectro-polarization of ices and dusts, and the interest of this technique for Solar System and extra-solar observations. I will finally discuss the prospects to remotely detect potential surface biosignatures in the future.