“Houston, we have lift off!” – and this time it’s Zita Martins, researcher and professor at Técnico, who will lead the Solar System Exploration Working Group (SSEWG) at the European Space Agency (ESA). From January 2024, and for three years, the researcher from the Centro de Química Estrutural (CQE) will also be a member of ESA’s Space Science Advisory Committee (SSAC).

This is the first time that a Portuguese personality leads the SSEWG. To mark this occasion, the scientist shared her perspectives on the invitation she received, and what the future might hold for her career and space science.

How important is this invitation for you, for the country and for Técnico?

Zita Martins (ZM): I received this invitation from ESA to lead a very important working group, the SSEWG. Obviously, this is a huge honour – it’s a huge honour for me, to see my work recognised, and it’s great for Técnico and Portugal. It’s the first time that a Portuguese scientist will lead this working group.

Having a scientist at this level who also represents Técnico is a responsibility and an honour. It’s going to be a few years of hard work, but I think it’s going to be very interesting to see ‘the other side’ too, because science isn’t just specifically about being locked in a laboratory. In this case, these meetings and working groups are going to discuss the future of planetary sciences and sciences in our solar system, so at that level I think it’s going to be extremely interesting and I’m very excited.

What aspects of your scientific activity do you think may have been essential in obtaining this nomination?

ZM: I think there are two or three main aspects here. I have a degree in Chemistry from Técnico, but I have a PhD in Astrobiology and I’ve been working in this field for over 20 years. In that sense, it’s more than two decades of work in a very interdisciplinary area doing science at the highest level, being recognised by colleagues, not only in Europe but also in the USA and Japan.

In addition, I also have experience in leading and coordinating teams – not just my team in the astrobiology laboratory at Técnico, but also various panels. I have experience, acquired over the years, in leading working groups. This experience is also an asset because doing science and knowing how to lead working groups are two completely different things. There are deadlines to meet, there are certain ways of working…

I also think there’s a third very important point: the fact that I’ve been part of so many international space missions, as a member of the scientific community. That also brings a perspective of knowing how to ask “OK, looking to the future, what’s left to do?”. This perspective is very relevant if we have a space mission that is going to take 10, 15 or 20 years.

What future do you foresee for the development of space sciences in the coming years?

ZM: In terms of the future of space sciences, there’s ‘going where we haven’t gone before’ or doing research into something that hasn’t been done before, or using equipment that we didn’t have until now. Over the years, we’ve been able to develop this equipment and, therefore, discover things that we couldn’t before.

Speaking of the ESA, the agenda for 2050 has already been discussed and there are now several working groups. Some scientists are meeting and trying to discuss what the future missions should be, the locations, what is doable or not, and this is done together with the engineers who tell us “yes, this idea you have is possible” or not. For example, if we want to go to the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, which targets should we go to? Should we go to Europa, Enceladus, or Titan? At the moment, that’s exactly what’s being discussed.

I think that, in the next few decades, a mission of this calibre will happen, apart from the NASA missions that are already planned, of course, but we’re going to have a lot of missions, or at least the discussion of these space missions, and we’re going to have the planning for them. Hopefully, in the next two decades, we’ll see some of these missions launched. That would be an enormous joy.

How would you describe the role of Portuguese scientists in space science research?

ZM: There has been an exponential growth in Portuguese science over the last 20 years. As I said, I have a degree in Chemistry from Técnico and I remember very well taking some maths classes together with some first-year students from the then newly created Aerospace Engineering course  (they weren’t exactly the first, as I joined in 1997). I remember that there was enormous enthusiasm in these areas and that many of these students went to the ESA and stayed there, while others came back and started their own companies.

We know that there has been exponential growth, but that growth also has a very solid foundation in terms of quality. Portuguese engineers, scientists and companies dealing with space are of enormous quality. They will continue to grow and expand, but I’ll say it again – in terms of science, we have several Portuguese who are joining space missions or working groups. Portuguese space science is doing very well and will continue to grow.

A final remark: almost 25 years ago, when I left Portugal, there was no group doing Astrobiology in Portugal, and we have to emphasise this – at Técnico we have the first Astrobiology group in the country, and already at various levels. We’ve had undergraduate, master’s and PhD students, post-docs… I arrived at Técnico in 2018 and I think that when we talk about scientists, we must highlight the role that the school plays in this area.