Emma Bunce

Professor Emma Bunce serves as the Head of School for Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester and holds the title of Professor of Planetary Plasma Physics. Her research focuses on planetary magnetospheres, with significant contributions to NASA's Juno mission (Jupiter), the Cassini mission (Saturn), and ESA/JAXA's BepiColombo mission (Mercury). She leads the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (MIXS) instrument on BepiColombo and co-leads the SIXS instrument. Her work explores plasma dynamics, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, and planetary exploration technologies.

Research Interests: Planetary plasma physics, magnetospheric dynamics of gas giants and Mercury, mission instrumentation (e.g., X-ray spectrometers), and space weather effects in planetary environments. Key projects include Juno's polar magnetosphere studies, Cassini's Saturnian magnetosphere analysis, and BepiColombo's Mercury surface composition investigations.

Labs/Teams: Principal Investigator of MIXS and Co-Investigator of SIXS (BepiColombo), Juno Magnetosphere Working Group member, and former Cassini magnetometer team Co-Investigator. Active in collaborative mission planning with NASA and ESA.

Future Work: Leading BepiColombo's Mercury arrival (2025), advancing X-ray spectrometry techniques, and advocating for ice giant exploration missions (e.g., Uranus orbiter concepts).