Dr. Joe Callingham, Head of ASTRON’s SKA Science Group, has been awarded a prestigious Vidi grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The grant, worth up to €850,000, will enable him to establish a research group focused on one of astronomy’s most fundamental questions: which planets beyond our solar system could support life?
Published by the editorial team, 23 October 2025
Callingham is among 149 talented researchers across the Netherlands to receive a Vidi grant this year. The funding will support his project “Radio Stars and Exoplanets: Creating Space Weather Reports for Distant Worlds,” which takes a novel approach to assessing planetary habitability.
Just as weather forecasts help us prepare for conditions on Earth, Callingham’s team will develop the first space weather reports for exoplanets. These reports will track crucial factors like magnetic fields and plasma eruptions from distant stars—conditions that determine whether a planet can retain its atmosphere under intense stellar activity.
“Understanding the space weather environment of exoplanets is fundamental to determining habitability,” explains Callingham. “Radio observations give us unique insights into the magnetic fields and stellar activity that shape whether these distant worlds could support life as we know it.”
The Vidi grant, part of NWO’s Talent Programme, supports experienced researchers ready to establish or expand their own research groups. Over the next five years, Callingham will use the funding to build his team and advance our understanding of planetary environments beyond our solar system.