News from MIRRPLA
Actuality from the project
The MIRRPLA project (Multiple-beam IRRadiation PLAtform to investigate the origin and evolution of organic matter in the Solar System) aims to gain a better understanding of the origin and evolution of organic matter in the Solar System through the development of a unique experimental platform combining irradiation with UV photons, electrons and ions.
Since its launch in 2023, the project has reached several major milestones. In November 2023, the platform was granted official authorisation for permanent installation at GANIL, within the D2 experimental hall. The detailed design of the instrument was then finalised in May 2024, marking the start of the integration and assembly phase.
By the end of 2025, the assembly of the main vacuum chamber and the gas injection ramp for the differential pumping stage (which connects the MIRRPLA ultra-high vacuum system to the ion beam lines, where the pressure is several orders of magnitude higher) had been completed and successfully validated. The majority of the platform’s key equipment — vacuum chambers, pumping systems, UV lamps, infrared spectrometer, gas injection devices and electron gun — had been ordered, delivered and largely integrated. In particular, the UV lamp and the electron gun had been installed on the MIRRPLA chamber, whilst testing and calibration are set to continue in 2026.
Another significant development concerns the Orbitrap GC-MS mass spectrometer, a crucial component for the high-resolution identification and characterisation of organic molecules produced during irradiation experiments. Delivered to Caen in March 2024, this equipment has already undergone several successful commissioning and validation campaigns.
The project also contributes to the training of the next generation of researchers. Lawry Honold began his PhD at PIIM in November 2023, Sreeja Raghunandanan joined CIMAP in January 2025 to undertake her PhD, and Thibault Nguyen Trung joined the consortium as a postdoctoral researcher in November 2025. David Dubois joined the project in December 2025 as part of his junior professorship at the University of Caen.
In parallel with the development of the instrumentation, several experimental campaigns were carried out on astrophysical ice analogues in order to study the mechanisms underlying the formation of complex organic residues and to prepare for future MIRRPLA experiments. Photon irradiation experiments were carried out at PIIM, whilst ion irradiation experiments were conducted at CIMAP. This work has already led to the submission of two scientific papers in 2025.
The project is also gaining increasing international visibility thanks to numerous presentations at leading conferences such as ECAMP, BEACON and ICACS&SHIM, thereby helping to strengthen scientific collaborations in its research areas.
The initial results achieved have also been recognised with several awards. In 2025, Sreeja Raghunandanan received the prize for the best poster at the Normandy University PhD Students’ Day (MIIS and PSIME). In the same year, Alicja Domaracka was awarded the Mid-Career Award at the international conference ‘Radiation Effects in Insulators’, highlighting the scientific quality and impact of the work carried out as part of the project.
Focus
The MIRRPLA platform is now entering a crucial phase of its development. The next steps will focus on finalising the assembly of the instrumentation and completing the roll-out of the automated control system, ensuring the integrated and efficient operation of the entire facility.
Efforts will also focus on the full commissioning of the multi-beam system and on optimising the transfer of the species under study to the Orbitrap spectrometer, a key factor in achieving the expected analytical performance.
This phase will enable the first experimental trials to be carried out, simultaneously combining UV, ion and electron beams – a unique capability that constitutes one of the platform’s major innovations. These experiments will pave the way for the first scientific campaigns planned as part of the Origins PEPR and will contribute to the exploration of new physico-chemical processes of interest to the sciences of the Universe.
Ultimately, MIRRPLA will be open to the national and international scientific community, providing a new, state-of-the-art research tool and fostering the development of interdisciplinary collaborations and the emergence of new research projects.
Relation with others WP
The MIRRPLA project collaborates with several other PEPR Origins projects by supplying organic residues produced during irradiation experiments. These samples may be used for:
• to test new analytical instruments developed as part of the PEPR;
• to study the chemical evolution of primordial organic matter;
• to explore the mechanisms of molecular complex formation in various astrophysical environments.
The platform will thus help to strengthen synergies between the various scientific communities involved in the study of origins.
Relation with industries
None
Publication links to the project