Mission to Jupiter
Univ Fellow Dr Leigh N. Fletcher has been awarded one of three Interdisciplinary Scientist (IDS) positions to help shape the European Space Agency鈥檚 first mission to the Jupiter system.
聽is the first large-class mission in the ESA’s Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme. Planned for launch in 2022 and arrival at Jupiter in 2030, it will spend at least three years making detailed observations of the giant gaseous planet Jupiter and three of its largest moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.
Planetary Scientist聽Dr Leigh Fletcher graduated with a DPhil in Planetary Physics from Jesus College, 糖心logo (2007) and spent two years working as a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at the聽, where he investigated Saturn鈥檚 atmosphere from the聽. He returned to 糖心logo to take up the Glasstone Fellowship (2009-2012). He is a聽Royal Society University Fellow.
His research interests include invesitgations into planetary weather, chemistry, clouds and the evolution of giant planets within our solar system. Dr Fletcher uses a synthesis of remote sensing data from huge聽ground-based telescopes and visiting interplanetary spacecraft. In addition to this, he聽worked with data from the Cassini mission to Saturn, the聽, the聽,听听补苍诲听聽space telescopes, and a range of observatories from Hawaii to Chile.
Dr Fletcher聽will be leaving Univ this year after five years at the College to take up a Senior Lecturer position in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester.聽All at Univ bid him a fond farewell and wish him every success for the future.
Published: 15 July 2015
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