Europlanet Committee Funding Scheme

Europlanet offers funding for proposals of up to 5000 € to support the activities of its members. Proposals should be submitted by the Chair (or designated representative) of a Europlanet Regional Hub, Committee or Working Group (WG).

The Call for the Europlanet Committee and Working Group Funding Scheme 2026 closed on 16 March 2026.

Short summaries of projects previously funded through the scheme are listed below.

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Projects Funded through the Scheme

The following projects have been funded through the Europlanet Society Committee Funding Scheme:

Projects funded in 2026

Central Europe Hub proposal: Software for analysing comet images – KOPR and workshops for use amongst astronomers (€3800).

Audiences reached: Under-represented states, amateur astronomers, planetary science community, early-careers.

• Europlanet funding will enable further development of KOPR, a software tool designed for comet observers that supports observation planning, processing of visual and CCD comet observations, and data export to major international databases. Over 11,893 observations have already been submitted to the Comet OBServation (COBS) database through this tool.
• Developments will support three key areas: (1) accelerating data processing workflows— including image calibration, stacking, and astrometry; (2) improving measurement error prevention; and (3) expanding analytical capabilities, specifically comet tail photometry with analysis of dust grain size distribution based on the Beta factor. Following the software updates, two offline and one online workshops will be held for observers with a focus on hands-on training in software usage, data submission, observational data analysis. The work is also supported by SMPH, z.s, a non-profit associated with the Czech Astronomical Society.

Colombia Hub proposal: Strengthening the Europlanet Community in Colombia: Outreach, Training and Networking through the Colombia Regional Hub (€1410).

Audiences reached: Under-represented states, early-careers, planetary science community, outreach providers.

• Europlanet funding will support the 3rd Workshop on Planetary Science, Astrobiology and Astrochemistry, held in May 2026 in Colombia. The workshop will be organised simultaneously in Bogotá and Cali, with a programme that includes scientific talks, networking sessions and educational field activities. These events will bring together students, researchers and professionals interested in planetary sciences and astrobiology, supporting the development of the national Europlanet community in Colombia.

EPEC proposal: Machine Learning in Solar and Planetary Research— Europlanet EPEC-ML WG Summer School (€3250).

Audiences reached: Under-represented states, early-careers, planetary science community, Machine Learning Working Group, South East Europe Hub.

• A three-day Europlanet Summer School (16-18 September 2026) will be held on Machine Learning in Solar and Planetary Research, jointly organised by EPEC and the Machine Learning WG, and run in parallel with the annual SRTI-BAS SCOSTEP Workshop in Primorsko, Bulgaria. The school targets early-career scientists (PhD candidates and postdocs) and will combine lectures with hands-on practicals. Core topics will include, ML for solar activity and space-weather forecasting, planetary image/spectral analysis, geospatial data fusion, physics-informed and interpretable ML and reproducible workflows.

Industry WG proposal: Industry-Academia Pairing Scheme: A Pilot Project (€3000).

Audiences reached: Industry, early-careers, planetary science community, Europlanet Hubs.

• This project will pilot an industry-academia pairing scheme inspired by the European Geosciences Union’s science-policy pairing model, in which selected recipients work alongside a host for up to one week, with activities tailored to the host’s agenda, the participant’s expertise and mutual availability.
• Early-career scientists (primarily PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers) from the Europlanet community will be matched with designated, voluntary industrial hosts or mentors in a country other than their own. Visits will take place at the industrial host’s facilities and will offer a structured, short-term immersion in an industrial environment, with most eligible travel and subsistence costs covered by Europlanet.

Italy Hub proposal: Planetology, Exploration, Terrestrial analogs, Robotics, Astrobiology, Spectroscopy (PETRAS) Summer school 2026 (€4000).

Audiences reached: Early-careers, planetary science community, Europlanet Hubs.

• PETRAS (Summer school on Planetology, Exploration, Terrestrial analogs, Robotics, Astrobiology and Spectroscopy) is an intensive educational event that combines lectures and field campaigns aiming to offer to the participants an overview of the diverse and multidisciplinary expertise involved in the field of planetary sciences, from a theoretical and practical points of view.
• PETRAS is intended primarily for PhD students, but also open to master’s students and early career post-doc researchers interested in scientific and technological aspects related to planetary science. Being organised on the island of Vulcano (Aeolian archipelago, Italy), which is only accessible by ferry, PETRAS is also a way to share knowledge of planetology with the local community.
• The 2026 edition will take place from 27 May – 01 June 2026. Europlanet funding will support the accommodation costs for speakers, most of whom are early-career researchers (post-doc researchers).

Northern Hub proposal: Inspiring the Next Generation of Nordic-Baltic Women in Planetary Science (€5000).

Audiences reached: Under-represented countries, planetary science community, diversity, early-careers, general public, schools.

• This project aims to promote the visibility and recognition of women in planetary science and astronomy across the Nordic and Baltic regions through two complementary initiatives. Europlanet funding will be used to create the Liisi Oterma Medal, an award recognising outstanding contributions by women in planetary science in the Nordic-Baltic region. Named after the Finnish astronomer Liisi Oterma, a pioneer in the study of comets and asteroids and the first woman in Finland to obtain a PhD in astronomy, the medal will celebrate scientific excellence and provide visible role models for early-career researchers.
• The project will also expand the AstronomAs travelling exhibition, which has already been successfully presented in Lithuania and Estonia. New panels will be developed to highlight pioneering and contemporary women astronomers from Nordic and Baltic countries. The exhibition will be translated where necessary and printed for display in universities, research institutes, science centres and public venues across the region.

Northern Hub proposal: Europlanet Workshop on the Tumbleweed Mars Rover (€3260).

Audiences reached: Under-represented countries, early-careers, planetary science community, schools.

• Europlanet funding will support a one-day interactive workshop at the University of Oslo designed to engage early-career researchers and MSc students in the future of distributed planetary exploration using wind-driven Tumbleweed rovers. The event will combine essential martian science with hands-on mission design, offering participants a practical understanding of how swarm-based rover architectures can expand planetary surface investigations. The workshop provides an interdisciplinary, experience-based introduction to planetary mission development.
• The workshop programme will include lectures outlining key Martian environmental conditions and the scientific potential enabled by Tumbleweed rover networks. Participants then work in groups to brainstorm and assemble a prototype “payload bay” tailored for a Tumbleweed mission. This activity connects scientific objectives with engineering practice through the integration of multiple sensors onto a breadboard and their connection to a single-board computer. Groups will test their hardware outdoors using in-house software to display live data collected from a Tumbleweed rover, with time available for teams to develop simple custom data-reading code. In parallel, a virtual-reality station will demonstrate a digital-twin simulation of a rover navigating the Martian surface, reinforcing how payload design influences operational performance. Each payload bay will be evaluated using a scaled Tumbleweed prototype, and the best-performing team will receive a prize.

Spain-Portugal Hub proposal: CEA 2026 Astronomical Congress (XXVII Congreso Estatal de Astronomía) (€1300).

Audiences reached: Amateur Astronomers, planetary science community, early-careers, public, schools, media.

• The XXVII CEA 2026 Astronomy Congress will be organised by the Sabadell Astronomical Society in Sabadell on 9-12 October 2026 and is expected to have over 300 amateur and professional attendees, mostly from Spain and neighbouring countries. These congresses are vital for advancing amateur observation techniques and serve as a platform to boost public engagement, especially timely given the three solar eclipses visible from Spain in 2026-2028, to share results from the first eclipse and discuss lessons learned for the next ones.
• The CEA Congress includes a public engagement programme dedicated to Solar System observation, with public talks, a scale Solar System model accessible to people with visual impairments, and an exhibition about the life and research of Dr Assumcia Catala , a pioneering female astronomer who dedicated thirty years to the study of solar spots, orbital calculations and eclipses.
• Europlanet funding will support the participation of established scientists, which will improve synergies with amateurs and enhance the event’s visibility with the media and young people.

Spain-Portugal Hub proposal: Probing Haumea’s Rings and Shape: A Global Observation Campaign for the 4 May 2026 Stellar Occultation (€5000).

Audiences reached: Amateur Astronomers, planetary science community, under-represented countries, early-careers, public, schools, media.

• On 4 May 2026 a rare stellar occultation by the dwarf planet Haumea will occur, offering a unique opportunity to study this trans-Neptunian system and its remarkable ring structure. Stellar occultations enable precise measurements of the size, shape and environment of distant Solar System bodies, often with kilometre-scale accuracy.
• This project aims to coordinate an international observing campaign across Europe, the Middle East and Asia to record the event. Key observing sites include Spain, Italy, Greece, Türkiye, Egypt, India and neighbouring regions. Coordination and data reporting will be organised through the Occultation Portal, enabling remote participation and data sharing by observers worldwide. Multiple observatories along the predicted shadow path will observe the occultation simultaneously. These coordinated observations will probe the structure and optical depth of Haumea’s rings, improve constraints on the triaxial shape of the body, and search for additional rings or satellites. The campaign will involve both professional observatories and experienced amateur astronomers, fostering collaboration between researchers and the wider astronomy community. Coordination, station registration and observation reporting will be managed through the Occultation Portal infrastructure.
• Europlanet funding will support logistical coordination of local observing stations, travel for key amateur observers to optimal locations, and campaign organisation activities. Led by researchers at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA-CSIC), the campaign will strengthen international collaboration and public engagement in planetary science, promoting cooperation between professional astronomers, amateur observers and local astronomy communities.

Projects funded in 2025

French Hub proposal: Lights, Camera, Early-Career Scientists in Action! (€3500), with an additional €1000 contributed through the French Hub discretionary fund.

Audiences reached: Early-careers, under-represented states, planetary science community, other research communities, schools and the public.

• “Lights, Camera, Early-Career Scientists in Action!” showcases emerging scientists in a series of engaging 1-minute videos. Each early-career scientist (ECS) presents an “elevator pitch” highlighting their research, followed by another short film in which they share their experiences as ECS. Participants received expert guidance on on-camera presence, effective communication, and succinctly conveying the essence of their work.
• This project aimed to amplify ECS voices by creating accessible and compelling formats for science communication that were shared on social media platforms. The films support equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) by showcasing various voices and perspectives within the scientific community. Filming took place in Grenoble and featured ECS from diverse scientific fields, each offering unique insights and making significant contributions.

Ireland-UK Hub proposal: Open University Crew Mission to Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), Utah (€5000)

Audiences reached: early-careers, industry, under-represented states, planetary science community, other research communities, amateur community, schools and the public.

• A group of early career researchers from the Open University were funded to become analogue astronauts for two weeks as part of the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) crew mission in late Autumn 2025. The MDRS is a renowned facility in Utah operated by the Mars Society, designed to simulate the conditions and challenges of living and working on Mars. They welcome teams who’d like to conduct cutting-edge research and test new technologies that could support the future human exploration of Mars.
• The diverse and multidisciplinary crew team included PhD students and researchers from the UK and Portugal. The team carried out public and schools’ engagement as part of their mission.

Projects funded in 2023

French Hub proposal: Careers workshop at French Planetary Science Congress (€4900)

• The French Planetary Science Congress was held in Nantes in July 2024 conjointly with the French Astrobiology Society (SFE) and National Programme for Planetary Science (PNP), where two days were devoted to astrobiology topics and two others to planetary science more generally. Funding was requested from the Europlanet Society Committee Funding Scheme to support a one-day workshop devoted to early career researchers focussed on careers in planetary science, divided into talks from industry and academia about their diverse career paths, and workshops on topics such as “CV writing for industry”, “writing a good research grant”. A poster session in the afternoon allowed attendees to exchange with the invited speakers and other researchers at the conference. The whole event was in French to maximise interaction between the masters and PhD students and the presenters.

Spain Portugal Hub proposal: Pro-Am occultations campaigns with a portable telescope (€3300)

• Occultations of stars by small Solar System bodies provide relevant information about their atmosphere, rings, satellites and morphology. The most interesting results are usually obtained when several different chords of the same occultation event are gathered. Therefore, it is usually necessary to deploy different instruments across the predicted shadow path in order to maximise the probability of capturing relevant data.
• Several members of the Sociedad Astronómica Granadina (an amateur astronomy group from the south of Spain) have collaborated in dozens of different ProAm occultation campaigns promoted by the IAA and other organizations, specially those involving transneptunian objects, Jupiter trojans and NEOs. Those campaigns usually involve traveling (sometimes thousands of kilometers) in order to correctly position the telescopes and auxiliary gear. To continue and improve collaborations, funding was requested from the Europlanet Society Committee Funding Scheme to acquire a more powerful (but still portable) telescope to obtain occultation data of fainter stars.

Central Europe Hub proposal: Orionids 2023 (€1400)

• Funding was requested from the Europlanet Society Committee Funding Scheme to support “Orionids 2023”, a meteor astro-camp. During a weekend workshop that took place in Banská Štiavnica, in central Slovakia, different astrophysicist and astronomers amateur provided lectures about how to observe meteor showers and secondary meteor showers in a classical traditional way. This seminar taught the participants how to be prepared theoretically for such an observation, what methodology (IMO) to use and how to practically observe a meteor shower in general. Training was also provided in submitting the results in the IMO database. Another aim of the project was to teach a new lecturing team in order to maintain visual observation discipline using up to date methodologies. The plan for the future is to organise the observation of meteor showers at least 3 times a year in Slovak dark sky parks or another convenient location. Find out more in the Europlanet Magazine article.

Central Europe Hub: Variable stars and exoplanet research meeting – support for international audience (€4700)

• The Czech Variable stars meeting is traditionally organised by the Czech Astronomical Society, Variable stars and exoplanet section, association of professional and amateur astronomers predominantly from the Czech Republic, but also members from other european countries. This meeting has a long history, the last 54th meeting took place in November 2022 in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Average audience is between 50 and 100 participants, including online audience. Various topics with focus on pro-am research of variable stars and exoplanets are discussed. With the incresing number of international collaboration, there is a rise of international audience of the meeting. Last year’s meeting was also held in hybrid form. Funding was requested from the Europlanet Society to broaden focus of the meeting to the Central European international audience by formally dividing the meeting to consecutive international and Czech/Slovak sections, advertising the meeting on the European level and providing support for in-person participants – amateur astronomers and students. The support will comprise travel bursaries and support with translation of presentations and other material into English. Since 2021 there is also an student section in the form of a competition organised, where also students from other countries can participate.

Ireland-UK Hub: Europlanet Early-Career Networking at the British Planetary Science Conference 2024 (€4380)

• The British Planetary Science Conference (BPSC) 2024 has been awarded by the UK Planetary Forum to Space Park Leicester (SPL). The meeting was held in June 2024 at Space Park and the adjacent National Space Centre in Leicester. Europlanet sponsorship was requested to raise awareness of society membership benefits in the UK. BPSC started with a 1-day workshop for those new to the space and planetary science community, where experienced SPL engineers and project managers demonstrated examples of how space instruments and missions are developed. This helped facilitate wider access to new space exploration initiatives in the planetary and space science community, and was particularly focussed on connecting early-career researchers to new opportunities. The main 3-day part of the conference consisted of oral and poster sessions reflecting the range of topical planetary and space science activities in the UK, including results from sample return missions, Mars exploration, the Gas and Ice Giants, meteorites, Mercury. The main conference also had an emphasis on careers and EDI, with input on careers in the space industry. On the final day included a community consultation day with UKSA, STFC, and other interested stakeholders like Europlanet.

EPEC: Early Career Activities at DPS-EPSC 2023 (€1400)

• EPEC has organised a programme of events for early career researchers at the joint DPS-EPSC meeting in October 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. The activities included a short course on mental health, a social event, mentoring for first-time attendees and the EPEC general assembly. In addition, EPEC had a booth to help early careers find their way around and inform them about our work.

Projects funded in 2022

MeteoMars, a tool to explore meteorological events on Mars
(Proposed by the Spain & Portugal Hub)

• MeteoMars is an outreach, education and research project promoted by the Pamplona Planetarium and the Planetary Sciences Group of the University of the Basque Country, which through a web interface it allows to explore combinations of images taken by the MARCI camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission (MRO).
• The website is accessible at http://meteomars.pamplonetario.org/

CORIOTRON Project
(Proposed by the France Hub)

• This project created a physical simulator of the effects of the Coriolis and centrifugal forces in a uniformly rotating fluid, the “Coriotron”, to reproduce several meteorological phenomena that occur in planetary atmospheres, such as mid-latitude waves (Earth, Mars) and coherent vortices (polar or mid-latitude vortices, e.g. those in the atmospheres of giant planets).

Astro Tour Ivoire
(Proposed by the France Hub)

• SpaceBus France organised a similar event to an outreach campaign held in Togo in 2022 (https://www.europlanet.org/europlanet-magazine/issue-3/togo-under-the-stars/) but this time in the Ivory Coast in collaboration with the Ivorian scientific association “Association Ivoirienne d’Astronomie”.
• During 2 weeks, a team of French and Ivorian astrophysicists visited the main cities of the country, reaching out to citizens and promoting science-society dialogue around astronomy.

Projects funded in 2021

Support for community development and awareness around inclusion
(Proposed by the Diversity Committee)

• A virtual workshop on bystander training, to be delivered by Moses Milazzo from Other Orb.
• Online screening of the documentary by award-winning filmaker Kendall Moore, ‘Can We Talk? Difficult Conversations with Underrepresented People of Color’ followed by a Q&A with Kendall.

Stairway to Space, the EPEC podcast
(Proposed by the EPEC Communications Working Group)

• The EPEC podcast serves as a tool for MSc-PhD students and PostDocs to promote their research through series of interviews, raise important issues that concern diversity and inclusion in the research institutions through sharing of experiences and by hosting specialists, offer coverage of the major events for planetary science in Europe and eventually worldwide (depending on EPEC members participation), and strengthen the ties of the Europlanet new generation with the regular production of episodes.

Light Fingerprints
(Proposed by the Spain-Portugal Hub)

• This exhibition illustrates the concept of spectroscopy and how it can be used to tackle several astrophysical problems, from measurements of composition and wind in the atmosphere of our Solar System planets, to the detection of exoplanet atmospheres.
• The installation is hosted in the entrance hall of Porto Planetarium, which is a “Ciência Viva” center dedicated to Astronomy and Space Sciences.

Projects funded in 2020

Theatre as a Tool for Science Outreach and Storytelling
(Proposed by the Benelux Hub Committee)

Just as fiction can make imaginary worlds seem real, stories can help people of all ages reach a deeper understanding and appreciation of science and the experiences of scientists.

‘Planetary Atmospheres Accessible to All’ is a project organised by the Europlanet Society’s Benelux Hub that aims to foster collaborations between researchers, performers and storytellers to use performing arts techniques to engage public audiences.

The project kicked off with an online seminar ‘Theatre as a tool for science outreach and storytelling’ in November 2020. Dr Andrea Brunello and Dr Pierre Echard of Jet Propulsion Theatre introduced various approaches used to blend science and theatre, including staged performances called ‘augmented lectures’. The seminar was followed up by a series of online workshops for 10 Europlanet researchers to provide them with practical tools to become scientific storytellers for general audiences or students. Over three half-day sessions in the run-up to Christmas, participants defined and prioritised main themes for their planetary science story and their target audiences, connecting the scientific questions to societal issues. Each participant had the chance to prepare one short story on their topic of interest and present it to an audience of invited artists.

Ongoing collaborations are being explored between arts-science pairs to co-create augmented lectures and further enhance the project.

JPT is a collaboration between the Arditodesìo Theatre Company and the University of Trento. Planetary Sciences for All was organised by Dr Andrea Brunello (JPT), Dr Ann Carine Vandaele (BIRA-IASB), Dr Arianna Piccialli (BIRA-IASB), Dr Karolien Lefever (BIRA-IASB), Dr Pierre Echard (JPT).

A Pocketful of Mars
(Proposed by the Central Europe Hub Committee)

The Pocket Atlas of Mars 36 is a new collection of maps that present the physical geography of the Red Planet in thematic layers on a topographic base map, as well as albedo, cloud cover, weather and climate maps and climate diagrams. Already in its second edition, due to high demand, the atlas has been created by Henrik Hargitai of ELTE University (Planetary Perspectives, page 16) for use in astronomy clubs and schools. The first edition, which is available in English, Hungarian and Czech, was funded by the Europlanet Society through the Central Europe Hub.The main part of the atlas consists of a series of double spreads showing 30 cartographic quadrangles covering the whole surface of Mars. Landing sites and landforms created by water, ice, wind, lava and tectonic forces are highlighted, including features such as dune fields, mountain peaks, volcanic calderas, caves, ancient dried-up lakes and deltas. The climate maps describe the climatic zones, and the climate diagrams illustrate the variation in temperature through the martian year. Weather maps show the temperature at ground level across the western hemisphere of Mars at the two annual solstices, and the albedo maps reveal the amount of sunlight reflected from the surface. A one-page calendar for Mars year 36, covering the period from February 2021 to December 2022, explains the milestones in the seasonal changes on Mars

The second, extended edition of the atlas includes additional information on people that have contributed to the mapping of Mars, missions, ideas for activities, a ‘tourist guide’, and exercises on how to read the martian landscape. http://bit.ly/MarsAtlas