Planet Interior

This project aims at studying the interior of Mars, Mercury, Venus and the Galilean satellites by means of geodesy. Our investigations focus on the gravity field, the rotation and the tides of these celestial bodies. We analyse radio science data of operational Mars missions in order to study the Martian interior and atmosphere and its moon Phobos. We contribute to the development of observation strategies of BepiColombo and JUICE, and develop scientific models of the rotation, tides, interior structure and evolution of terrestrial planets and icy satellites in order to improve and refine the interpretation of the upcoming BepiColombo and JUICE data. Complementary to the radio science data, we use data from altimeters, cameras, and accelerometers.