International Space Science Institute ISSI

09/07/2026

This week we are hosting the International Team working on the "Impact of Solar Energetic Particles on Mars: Enhancing Space Weather Insights for Future Exploration" led by Marco Pinto and Laura Rodríguez-García.

This Team is investigating how solar energetic particles travel from the Sun through the heliosphere, interact with the Martian atmosphere, and ultimately reach the surface of Mars.

This research is critical for supporting future human and robotic missions to Mars, improving radiation risk assessment, and advancing our understanding of space weather effects across the solar system, including near Earth.

The goal: validate an integrated model that connects the full chain of physics involved — from solar particle acceleration, through heliospheric transport, to atmospheric interactions and radiation effects at the Martian surface.

Read more: https://teams.issibern.ch/solarparticlesmars/

08/07/2026

🔭 Bridging the gap between spectroscopic surveys

This International Team #24-625 "AsteroSHOP: Large Spectroscopic Surveys HOmogenisation Program" led by Guillaume Thomas met at ISSI from June 22-26, 2026.

The team's mission: sharing expertise and developing new techniques to homogenise large spectroscopic surveys onto a common scale.

This work is extremely important because, without it, data from different surveys cannot be reliably combined to study our Galaxy as a whole. For example, a complete study of the Milky Way requires combining observations from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

The team aims to produce a set of metrics for comparing the performance of existing methods, a pipeline for improving and evaluating these methods and their limitations, better uncertainty estimates, and a list of recommendations for ongoing and next-generation large spectroscopic surveys.



Read more: https://teams.issibern.ch/asteroshop/

02/07/2026

🌌🔭 JWST has given us a chemical map of the early universe and it is full of surprises!

This week at , experts in stellar physics, star clusters, and high-redshift galaxies including Allison Strom, Danielle Berg, Corinne Charbonnel, Brian Welch, and Antonella Nota are meeting to ask:
What do the chemical abundances of distant galaxies tell us about the stars that made them?

Read more about the ISSI Workshop: "Connecting Chemical Abundances to their Generative Stellar Populations in Distant Galaxies" | 29 June – 3 July 2026 on workshops.issibern.ch/distant-galaxies

29/06/2026

Hey community!
If you are in Lausanne this week, stop by the ISSI booth and say 'Hi'!

We are here to connect with the science community, share research opportunities, and hand out plenty of goodies. Whether you are curious, looking for collaborations, or just want to chat space science, come find us on the blue carpet! 🟦

29/06/2026

Curious about the latest discoveries and insights from Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter ☀️?

Watch here the recorded webinar with Marco Velli (Space Physics in the Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences Department, UCLA, USA)

youtu.be/jV8jfdSmN7Y

The launch of Parker Solar Probe (Parker) in 2018, accompanied shor...

24/06/2026

📊 In 2025, ISSI organised 69 events and welcomed 964 visitors from all over the world — 479 of them joining us for the very first time. ✨

Our 2025 Annual Report is here, and for the first time, it's fully digital! Dive into all our activities, highlights, and results.

👉 Here you can explore the digital report https://www.issibern.ch/annualreport/2025/

https://youtu.be/SfcJQABwmB4?si=_r35KboIZnLCtSCZ

Another year, another milestone! 💫ISSI's 2025 Annual Report is he...

23/06/2026

"Excitation and Dissipation of Kinetic-scale Fluctuations in Space Plasmas" is the focus of this week's ISSI International Team #612, led by Kristopher Klein and Daniel Verscharen.

The team’s main aim is to connect high-resolution measurements of particle velocity distributions from missions such as , , and MMS with modern kinetic theory, machine-learning methods, and nonlinear simulations.

This matters because these small-scale processes control how energy is transferred between particles and electromagnetic fields, shaping the heating, transport, and large-scale evolution of collisionless plasmas such as the solar wind, planetary magnetospheres, and in more distant astrophysical systems.

A key expected outcome is a set of observation-driven models that connect measured velocity distributions to the growth, damping, and global impact of kinetic-scale fluctuations. 🌟

18/06/2026

We are thrilled to introduce Prof. Elena Sabbi as ISSI's new Director! 🌟

Elena brings nearly two decades of experience at the Space Telescope Science Institute, including leading the Wide Field Camera 3 on Hubble and the JWST NIRSpec team, and most recently served as Chief Scientist of the International Gemini Observatory. She is also appointed Associate Professor for Space Sciences at the University of Bern International.

Her research on the formation and evolution of massive stellar clusters, combined with her passion for accessibility in science, makes her a perfect fit for ISSI's mission. Elena joins the Directorate, complementing Antonella Nota, Michael Rast, and Thierry Dudok de Wit, on August 1, 2026.

Welcome, Elena! 🔭

Get to know Elena here:

Meet Elena Sabbi, the new addition to ISSI. Discover her vision and expertise in stellar dynamics and observatory discussions.

11/06/2026

Huge congratulations to Amina Helmi, member of the ISSI Board of Trustees, on receiving the 2026 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics!

Amina, together with Vasily Belokurov and Rodrigo Ibata, has revealed that our Milky Way was built through Billions of years of cosmic collisions, uncovering the fossil evidence written in stellar streams across the sky. Breathtaking science that has truly shaped our understanding of the history of our galaxy.

We at ISSI are so proud to call Amina part of our community, and this honour is a wonderful recognition of a remarkable scientific journey. From galactic archaeology to mapping the invisible scaffolding of dark matter, your work continues to inspire.

Warmest congratulations, Amina! 🏅✨