Over the last decade, noticeable advances were made in the modelling of the internal properties of terrestrial planets. It is, for instance, known that knowledge of the radius and mass of planets (which can be obtained provided that the stellar radius and mass are known) allows characterising their bulk composition. However, the knowledge we can obtain about planet interiors based only on their radius and mass remains limited. In order to improve interior characterisation, compositional correlations between planets and their host stars are now being intensively investigated. Linking the properties of planets and stars is the key towards a precise characterisation of both planets and their host stars. The astrophysical questions that the EXO-TERRA team will attempt to answer through this project are:
— What is the origin of the compositional diversity of terrestrial planets?
— Around which stars should we search for Earth 2.0?

Total funding: € 49.609,45