Leicester University receives £500K in funding for new space habitability missions

Almost £500,000 in funding has been granted by the UK Space Agency to two teams based at Space Park Leicester, Leicester University’s £100m science and innovation park.

The grant will support scientists in developing the proposals for two satellites that would examine how activity in a star’s corona, such as the solar wind, impacts their planets and the environment in which they orbit.

Stellar winds can directly affect exo-planetary environments and control the flow of material and flux of cosmic rays from the Galactic environment, which have a potential influence on planetary climate. Stars also recycle material back into the interstellar medium - the matter and radiation that exists in the space between the star systems - enriching galactic metal content.

According to the Leicester University researchers, these processes can inform us about the habitability of a star system’s planets and the evolution of stars and galaxies, but are currently poorly understood.