'In Search of Water and Life in the Universe' by Alain Doressoundiram

 Friday, 18 April 2025

 7.30PM - 9PM

AFKL, 15 Lorong Gurney, 54100 KL

 Free entry upon RSVP

Is there water in the universe? Is there water in the solar system beyond Earth? Water is the second most abundant molecule in the universe, after dihydrogen. It can be found everywhere in the cosmos, from the planets of the solar system to distant galaxies, but always in the form of vapor or ice. Liquid water is an essential ingredient for all life on Earth. With 70% of its surface covered in water, Earth is the only known oasis. But where did the water on Earth come from? Was it already present when our planet formed?

It appears that liquid water may have once existed on Venus or Mars, but why did it disappear? These are questions that have fascinated scientists for a long time. By searching for water in the universe, astronomers strive to unravel the mysteries of the formation and evolution of planets, as well as the emergence of life on Earth. And with the recent discovery of several thousand exoplanets, a fundamental question arises—perhaps one of the greatest challenges in modern science: Are we alone in the universe?

About Alain Doressoundiram:

Alain Doressoundiram is an astrophysicist at the Observatoire de Paris -Université PSL. He is a specialist in the Solar System. His research interests include planetary surfaces planetary surfaces, small solar system bodies and radiative transfer in regoliths. He is also an expert in mass data processing and statistical analysis. He teaches at Bachelor's and Master's level, as well as in teacher training. He is the director of doctoral studies at Paris Observatory, and head of the Master 2 Planetology and Space Exploration. He is also heavily involved in space missions to explore the Solar System. solar system. He is Co-Principal Investigator of the SIMBIO-SYS instrument on the BepiColombo mission (mission to Mercury in 2018) and deputy Principal Investigator of MIRS on the MMX mission (mission to Phobos in 2024). He is also responsible for MIOSOTYS, a ground-based instrument installed at the Calar Alto Observatory (Spain), Co-Investigator on PHEBUS (BepiColombo), Supercam (Perseverance) and MicroMega (Exomars).