The UNSW Exoplanetary and Planetary Science Groups have had phenomenal success in this year's ARC Discovery Projects round, with all three grants submitted being funded.

Congratulations in particular go to Rob Wittenmyer who has won his first ARC grant as a lead-Chief Investigator!

These grants add to an external funding track-record of which we are very proud.

The projects supported in this round are

"Extrasolar terrestrial planets - How Earth-like can they be?"

1. DP110104526 Tinney, Bond, Wittenmyer, O'Brien
   

2. $270k over 3 years.
   

3. 
   

4. This research will answer the key question for current exoplanetary studies and searches - 'Are there other Earths in the Universe?' - by studying not only the processes via which terrestrial planets form, but also by modelling the elemental composition of extrasolar terrestrial planets so that we can understand just how 'Earth-like' they can be.
   

"Do Earth-like planets orbit Alpha Centauri?"

1. DP110101007 Wittenmyer, Hearnshaw, Endl
   

2. $135k over 3 years
   

3. 
   

4. This project will be an intensive search for Earth-like planets orbiting the two nearest Sun-like stars, Alpha Centauri A and B. Our results will give a valuable first look at the abundance of Earth-like planets in the solar neighbourhood.
   

"Understanding other worlds: the composition, structure and evolution of exoplanet atmospheres"

1. DP110103167 Bailey
   

2. $260k over 3 years
   

3. 
   

4. This project will advance our understanding of the rapidly growing number of planets being found around other stars. The project will develop new techniques to determine what their atmospheres are made of, how the planets form and evolve, and whether they have the potential to host life.
   

Photo credit: NASA