Dr. Olivier Mousis is a planetary scientist specializing in the origin and compositional evolution of giant planets and icy worlds. His research develops chemical and isotopic diagnostics that link present-day atmospheric and interior measurements to formation processes in protoplanetary disks, integrating spacecraft data, laboratory constraints, and thermochemical modeling to maximize the scientific return of current and future NASA missions. He has played a leading role in defining atmospheric entry probe science for the giant planets. He served as Principal Investigator of the HERA Saturn probe concept proposed to ESA (M4/M5) and advanced probe architectures for Uranus and Neptune aligned with Decadal Survey priorities, focusing on volatile inventories, noble gases, and isotopic tracers of planetary origin. He also led the Enceladus flyby mission concept Moonraker proposed to ESA’s 2022 M6 call.

Dr. Mousis has extensive experience in international space missions. He was a Participating Scientist on the ROSINA instrument aboard ESA’s Rosetta mission and Co-Investigator of the PTOLEMY experiment on the Philae descent module. He also served as an Associated Scientist on the Cassini–Huygens mission. He is currently Co-Investigator on the MASPEX instrument aboard Europa Clipper and on the SWI instrument aboard JUICE.

Prior to joining the Southwest Research Institute, he directed the Origins Institute at Aix-Marseille University, one of Europe’s largest astrobiology institutes. He is a recipient of a Fundamental Chair from the Institut Universitaire de France (2022), was elected Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics in 2024, and has authored more than 280 peer-reviewed publications. He earned his Master’s degree in physics from the University of Rennes and his Ph.D. in astrophysics and space techniques from the University of Paris-Diderot. Dr. Mousis currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.