Dr Rafael Luque, in collaboration with two teams of international researchers, has secured a total of 500 hours of observation time on two of the telescopes most in demand within the scientific community: the JWST and the VLT. This milestone will enable progress in the study of sub-Neptune-type planets and in the work of the THIRSTEE project.

Regarding the James Webb Space Telescope, the IN/AT-SYNC team, comprising researchers from ten different countries, has secured one of the ten large programmes offering 200 hours of observation. This will enable the study of the atmospheric composition of sub-Neptunes and link these properties to the planets’ origin and internal structure.

As for the Very Large Telescope programme, 300 hours of observation have been secured for the ESPRESSO instrument, the most sought-after at ESO in Chile. In this case, the team comprising 16 researchers from six different countries has secured the largest programme approved this year for ESO’s telescopes.