Research statement

Dr. Olivier Mousis is Research Program Director, R&D, at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado. His research focuses on the study of the formation conditions of planetary systems, with particular emphasis on our Solar System. His goal is to establish a link between the present chemical/physical properties of planetary bodies and those associated with the many processes leading to their formation and primordial evolution in protoplanetary disks, using data obtained from spacecraft, ground-based facilities, and laboratory experiments. 

He has been deeply involved in the design and preparation of robotic missions aimed at exploring the outer Solar System. Dr. Mousis led a long-term effort to define future space missions carrying atmospheric entry probes to the giant planets, with particular emphasis on Saturn—where he served as PI of the HERA mission proposal submitted to ESA for the M4 and M5 calls—and later extended this work to the icy giants Uranus and Neptune. He also served as the Principal Investigator of an international consortium that proposed the Enceladus Moonraker mission in response to ESA’s 2022 M-class call (Moonraker mission). 

Dr. Mousis has been the laureate of a Fundamental Chair from the Institut Universitaire de France (2022) and previously received a Senior Chair of Excellence from Aix-Marseille University (2015). He was the PI of the  FACOM (FAte of the volatile COmpounds at the galilean Moons) consortium funded by the French National Research Agency for 2022–2025, and has been elected Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics in 2024.

He authored or co-authored more than 270 research papers and delivered over 550 oral and written contributions at international conferences. His h-index reached 70, with over 16,200 citations (Google Scholar, June 2025).

Before joining SwRI, he served as Director of the Origins institute at Aix-Marseille University, France.

Key words: solar system – planetary systems – formation – giant planets – moons – comets – exoplanets – solar system exploration