ERC METAL Project – Understanding Terrestrial Planet Formation

The METAL project (Making tErresTriAl pLanets) aims to study the accretion and differentiation processes that shaped the current composition of Earth, the Moon, Mars, and other differentiated asteroids. We use advanced isotopic tools to understand the origin of volatile and siderophile elements in the solar system. This project, coordinated by Frédéric Moynier at IPGP, is a European partnership pushing the boundaries of cosmochemistry.

Scientific Publications

Access our scientific publications to discover the latest advances in cosmochemistry, isotopic analysis, and dynamic modeling.

Generation of carbonated peridotite melts via biogenic sediment recycling in modern subduction zones

Journal: Science Advances

2026

Heavy potassium isotopes in carbonatites reveal oceanic crust subduction as the driver of deep carbon cycling

Journal: Science Advances

2025

Heavy potassium isotopes in carbonatites reveal oceanic crust subduction as the driver of deep carbon cycling

Journal: Science Advances

2025

A whole-scale volatile-depleted lunar interior

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

2025

Carbonate metasomatism at mantle wedge conditions, evidence from trace element and stable isotope (Fe, Zn) signatures of orogenic peridotites

Journal: Chemical Geology

2025

Chemical compositions of Chang’e-6 lunar soil and substantial addition of noritic crust ejecta from Apollo basin

Journal: Geology

2025

Copper isotope evidence for recycled crustal sulfides in deep mantle plume source

Journal: Communications Earth and Environment

2025

Degasing of Phobos in a giant impact scenario: Implications for the MMX sample return mission

Journal: Icarus

2025

See Publications

Group dinner during the Goldschmidt meeting 2023

People

Meet the participants of the METAL project, experts in cosmochemistry and planetary sciences working together to uncover the secrets of terrestrial planet formation.

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Visual Highlights

Explore our Visual Highlights, featuring images of scientific instruments and analysis results illustrating the complex processes of planetary formation.

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News and Events

Stay updated with the latest news from the METAL project, including scientific honors, collaborations, and major events.

Goldschmidt 2025 in Prague

Goldschmidt conference is always a good occasion to gather former and current members of my team

IPGP features our recent collection of a lunar sample returned by the Chang’e 5 mission.

https://www.ipgp.fr/en/news-and-agenda/news/the-institute-receives-a-precious-sample-of-lunar-basalt-from-the-chinese-change-5-mission/

An article in the CNRS newsletter of the China’s office.

Thanks to the CNRS chinese office to promote our work on extra-terrestrial samples. For the full high resolution newsletter : https://beijing.office.cnrs.fr/publications/

Interview for the French media Radio France Internationale regarding how we use isotopes to study extraterrestrial samples, but also Alzheimer disease

https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/avec-sciences/elements-volatils-la-lune-a-tout-perdu-dans-sa-jeunesse-4117330

Very honored to become an AGU fellow during the 2024 meeting in Washington DC attended by over 25000 people.

On stage at the 2024 AGU honor ceremony AGU fellowship

Lunar sleepless night at IPGP

Le samedi 9 novembre, de 14h à minuit, nous organisons à l’Institut de Physique un événement autour de la Lune.

Congratulations to Haoxuan Sun for defending his PhD on planetary formation using a triple silicon isotope approach

Congratulations to Haoxuan Sun for defending his PhD on planetary formation using silicon isotope analysis. He is now moving to Washington, DC, for a postdoctoral fellowship at the Carnegie Institution for Science.

A medal for commitment to Frédéric Moynier from Université Paris Cité

In September, Frédéric was awarded a medal for commitment by Edouard Kaminski, president of Université Paris Cité. This ceremony was created also to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Université Paris Cité. Congratulations Fred!

IPGP received a sample from the OSIRIS-REx sample return mission

This month, we received 100 mg of the asteroid Bennu, sampled by the OSIRIS-REx mission (NASA) which returned to Earth in September 2023. This very precious sample will be analysed in our lab for its chemical and isotopic compositions using our state-of-the-art...

Linru Fang’s PhD Defense and Post-Doctoral Journey

Congratulations to Dr. Linru Fang for defending her PhD thesis on the origin and evolution of the first asteroids. She now moves on to postdoctoral research at the University of Copenhagen’s StarPlan group.