SPACE - SPectroscopy And Chemistry of Extraterrestrial molecules

We aim to understand the chemical evolution in astrophysical environments, such as interstellar star-forming regions or (exo-) planetary atmospheres, by simulating their conditions in the laboratory. For this we apply infrared spectroscopy to obtain vibrational fingerprints of molecules to aid their identification in space.

The spectroscopic information allows us to identify molecular structures within isomeric mixtures, and thus to unravel and to understand astrochemical reaction kinetics and networks, both in the gas-phase or in ices.