PhD position space geodesy for asteroids

PhD Project

The Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB) offers the position for a PhD candidate in the domain of space geodesy for asteroids. The successful candidate will contribute to an ambitious research project linked to ESA's upcoming RAMSES (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety), a landmark mission in planetary science and planetary defense.

The position is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation project “Characterisation of Near Earth Asteroid Apophis by exploitation of RAMSES mission data”, a joint project with the Space Research and Planetary Sciences division of the University of Bern.

The RAMSES mission will rendezvous with the near-Earth asteroid (99942) Apophis in 2029 and observe its extremely close flyby of Earth; an event that occurs only once every thousand years. This unique natural experiment will provide unprecedented insight into how tidal forces can reshape an asteroid's surface and internal structure.
The University of Bern plays a major role in RAMSES through the CHANCES imaging system, which will deliver high-resolution multispectral observations of Apophis. These data will be combined with other instrument data, laboratory experiments, and advanced numerical modeling to build a compre-hensive understanding of the asteroid.

PhD Project
The PhD position focuses on the gravity field, rotation state and interior structure of Apophis and how to measure these properties with RAMSES mission data. The candidate will develop and apply simulation pipelines and tools to incorporate and combine the different kinds of data (radiometric tracking, laser ranging and optical camera data, in particular from the CHANCES instrument) for the determination of RAMSES' trajectory and Apophis' geodetic parameters of interest. The processing will be based on the in-house developed Bernese GNSS Software, which was extended by capabilities to process data from deep space probes. The developed pipelines and analysis strategies will be applied to the actual RAMSES data as soon as it will be available. This work will directly contribute to the interpretation of mission data, offering a unique opportunity to be involved in a high-profile space mission. The PhD candidate will join a dynamic, interdisciplinary team including three PhD students, a postdoctoral researcher, and a software engineer, collaborating on the project at the Division of Space Research and Planetary Sciences and the Astronomical Institute at the University of Bern.

Your profile

• The candidate is expected to have successfully completed the master thesis (diploma/“Lizentiat”/Master) in astronomy, geodesy, physics, or a related topic.
• Experience in orbit and gravity field determination from satellite data is an advantage.
• Background in computer science (coding in Fortran90, C++, or Perl) is not a requirement, but beneficial for working in this project.
• The candidate should speak and write English fluently.

What we offer

• A fully funded PhD position at the University of Bern (with salary following the guidelines of the University of Bern)
• Participation in a cutting-edge ESA mission with high scientific impact
• Access to state-of-the-art computational resources
• A collaborative and international research environment
• Opportunities for conference participation and scientific networking