The United Kingdom

The Mullard Space Science Laboratory (UCL-MSSL) is part of UCL’s Department of Space & Climate Physics. Located in the heart of the Surrey countryside, UCL-MSSL’s core activity is space research. Our science programme, which spans climate extremes to dark matter and dark energy, is underpinned by a technology capability which both enables international space research through the development of world-class instrumentation, and provides opportunities to MSSL researchers and to the wider UK and international science community in the analysis and interpretation of data from key space assets. UCL-MSSL researchers regularly access a variety of space and ground-based facilities as appropriate to their research objectives.
The solar system research undertaken at UCL-MSSL is highly interdisciplinary, focussing on the key physical processes at work within each of our theme topics: solar magnetic activity, including its causes, consequences, and influence on the Solar System; solar wind formation and propagation and evolution through the heliosphere; including the source of the solar wind and understanding which regions on the Sun control the solar wind, and in-situ dynamics of energy transport in space plasmas; solar wind interaction with the Earth’s magnetosphere; including solar wind physics at kinetic and large scales, reconnection, magnetospheric acceleration and transport processes and processes controlling the aurora and radiation belts; solar wind and plasma interactions at other planetary environments; including ionospheric processes, comet-plasma interactions, planetary magnetospheric plasma and charged dust populations and processes driving aurorae and X-ray emission in atmospheres and on surfaces; planetary surface formation processes; including cratering chronology and dynamic feature tracking via super-resolution restoration.
The solar physics group at UCL-MSSL holds the PI role for Hinode UV Imaging Spectromter (EIS), a Co-PI role on Solar Orbiter EUI  (EUV Imager) and has been active in the development of the concept for Solar C_EUVST. The group has also been involved with development work for the European Solar Telescope (EST) since the early design studies, and project managed the development of the large format visible camera systems for DKIST. We are experts in the analysis, interpretation and modelling of magnetic field observations, and in combining this with high resolution imaging and spectroscopy of the upper solar atmosphere, particularly at UV, EUV, radio and X-ray wavelengths. As the EIS PI institute, we have many years of experience in co-ordinating joint observing campaigns between different space and ground-based assets, and we co-organised a DKIST critical science plan workshop to promote the joint use of DKIST and Solar Orbiter.
Within the mobility programme, we offer researchers at all stages the possibility to work on a variety of topics related to the combined exploitation of ground and space-based datasets, both current and future, including instrumentation projects related to the development of camera systems for EST and Solar C_EUVST and future concepts for miniaturized magnetographs using novel technologies. The group is an active and lively one, with strong links to the other solar system groups within the lab. UCL-MSSL has a broad seminar programme, including group specific talks, as well as cross-group seminars. Guest researchers will have access to all the lab facilities, including computing. UCL also maintains its own high-performance computing cluster for more intensive applications. The mobility programme will be promoted on the solar group web-pages and through UK and international mailing lists such as UKSP and Solar News.

visit the website of University College London, UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory

Contact

Prof. Dr. Sarah Matthews
UCL-MSSL, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking RH5 6NT
Email: sarah.matthews@ucl.ac.uk