Upcoming Astrobiology Conferences
To add a conference, workshop or training school, please log-in as EANA member and submit information there, or send an e-mail to eana-web (at) eana-net.eu.
  • Summer School "Traces of Early life"
    2025-06-02 to 2025-06-12, Scotland

    The EAI will organise the summer school "Traces of Early life" in Scotland. It will include

    • 4 days of lectures

    • excursion to stromatolite sites and other geologically interesting locations

    • practical exercises

    • poster sessions


    Bursaries for students and early career scientists will be available.


  • ASTROBIOLOGY GRADUATE CONFERENCE (ABGRADCON) 2025
    2025-06-06 to 2025-06-13, Boulder, CO, USA

    Proposal Writing Retreat: June 6-10, 2025
    Conference: June 10-13, 2025


    The Astrobiology Graduate Conference is dedicated to early-career scientists who study the complex and diverse topics that the astrobiology field encompasses. The goal of AbGradCon, organized entirely by graduate students, is to promote the scientific research of young astrobiologists, while promoting collaboration, practical training, and camaraderie. This conference has been an integral part of the astrobiology community for nearly two decades by providing a setting for graduate students and postdocs where small group discussions, presentations, and social activities promote long-term professional relationships. In essence, AbGradCon seeks to create a more interdisciplinary and inclusive astrobiology community, foster collaboration, and provide practical training for young scientists.

  • FALCON
    2025-06-26 to 2025-06-29, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Just before BEACON (26 -29 June), the Astrobiology Graduates in Europe (AbGradE) together with OoLEN (Origin of Life Early Career Network) will organise a meeting for students and early career scientists called FALCON (Frontiers in Astrobiology and origins of Life Conference) in Reykjavik, Iceland.

  • BEACON 2025
    2025-07-01 to 2025-07-05, Reykjavik, Iceland

    Abstract submission is now open for the Biennial European Astrobiology Conference (BEACON) in Iceland from 1-5 July 2025. The conference offers:

    • very interesting invited speakers

    • a very modern venue (https://www.harpa.is/en/) in the centre of Reykjavik

    • exciting excursions on July 3rd to historically and geologically interesting places

    • two poster sessions

    • a conference banquet with possibility to see the series of exhibitions "Wonders of Iceland" in the carousel restaurant Perlan overlooking Reykjavik (www.perlan.is)

    • an after-conference trip to Southern Iceland

    • possibility to book affordable accommodation (even camping is possible)


    Please see the conference website for further information and abstract submission. Bursaries for early career scientists and students are available.

  • INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL IN ASTROBIOLOGY
    2025-07-07 to 2025-07-11, Santander, Spain

    The International Summer School in Astrobiology will be held in Santander, Spain, from July 7-11, 2025. Stay tuned for more information on how to apply.

  • 18th International Clay Conference (ICC)
    2025-07-13 to 2025-07-18, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

    On behalf of the Clay Minerals Group (CMG) of the Mineralogical Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland, it is our great pleasure to invite you to the 18th International Clay Conference (ICC). The conference is organised under the auspices of the Association Internationale pour l’Etude des Argiles (AIPEA).

    The theme of the conference is "Sustaining Clays" to emphasise the myriad roles played by clays, clay minerals, and the closely allied layered double hydroxides and natural zeolites in sustainable development, the use and management of very many resources, and their bright future in tomorrow’s world.

    Our key aim with this conference is to integrate our diverse industrial, technological, and academic worlds of clays and clay minerals with a blend of sessions, workshops and field trips arranged under three sub themes where clay research and applications flourish namely "Materials and technologies", "Food, Water and Environment", and "Terra and extra-Terra".


    In particular, check out the session entitled "The Role of Layered Minerals in the Origin of Life – Insights from Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Environments", chaired by
    V. Erastova, C. Greenwell, S.V. Stewart, D. Santamaria Gonzales:
    The origin of life, whether terrestrial and/or extraterrestrial, involves fundamental questions about the transition from inanimate matter to living systems. Clay minerals, with their layered structures and high charge density, have been critical in shaping theories about the prebiotic mechanisms that most likely assisted during the emergence of life.

    Layered minerals form as a result of silicate weathering on both Earth and other planets, and are known to selectively concentrate organic molecules, catalyse polymerisation reactions and providing protecting environments for nascent protobiopolymers - all of which are essential steps for the initial steps toward life.

    This session explores how these properties of clays might have facilitated life’s origin through a multidisciplinary approach that integrates experimental studies, computational modelling and analyses of materials from space missions. Jointly, these studies help us overcome the key limitation of replicating early Earth conditions and extend knowledge of prebiotic chemistry across significant temporal and spatial scales.

    In this session, we discuss the potential roles of clays in catalysing biopolymer synthesis, information transfer and introducing mutations. We also address both clay’s capabilities and limitations in preserving functional protobiopolymers - how this may affect their use in early-life systems and assist in their discovery as biosignatures later it time. This session aims to highlight the latest findings and methodologies that advance our understanding of layered minerals and their role in life’s origins and drive ongoing scientific exploration.


    Registration: 2025-07-01

  • Space Industry-Science Workshop
    2025-08-18 to 2025-08-22, Riga, Latvia

    Riga Technical University (RTU) in collaboration with Aalto University and Stockholm University is pleased to announce the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) ‘Space Industry-Science Workshop.’ This initiative provides students and academic staff with a unique opportunity to engage with leading experts from the space science and industry sectors, fostering knowledge exchange and hands-on collaboration in space mission planning.

    This BIP programme serves as a platform for pre-mission proposal development, facilitating discussions between European universities, the European Astrobiology Institute (EAI), and start-up companies. The programme aims to equip participants with practical skills, enabling them to explore emerging industry opportunities and scientific advancements.

  • Astroscience on the African Continent
    2025-08-27 to 2025-08-28, NASDRA HW (Abuja, Nigeria)

    Astroscience presents Africa with a unique opportunity to play a central role in the global search for extraterrestrial life and unravel the chemical origins of life. The continent´s diverse landscapes, such as the Yusufari Desert, Namib Desert, and meteorite-rich regions, serve as invaluable natural laboratories mirroring extraterrestrial conditions. These environments are crucial for astrobiology, aiding in identifying biosignatures and simulating potential life-sustaining ecosystems on planets like Mars and icy moons like Europa.

    In astrochemistry, Africa´s state-of-the-art facilities, like the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), empower researchers to explore organic molecules in space and their role in life´s origins. By integrating astrochemistry with local expertise in organic sciences, Africa can take the lead in this revolutionary field.

    This conference will enhance scientific dialogue, international collaboration, and provide African scientists with cutting-edge research insights.

    Abstract submission deadline: 2025-07-31

  • Impacts and their role in the origin and evolution of life
    2025-09-01 to 2025-09-04, Nördlingen, Germany

    The meeting will take place in the picturesque medieval city of Nördlingen, which is situated inside the world-famous Ries crater in southern Germany. It aims to cover the role of meteorite and comets impacts in the formation of Earth, its atmosphere and the evolution of life. The conference will consist of lectures, discussions and excursions and participants will also have the possibility to display their own research results in one or two poster sessions. The European Astrobiology Institute and the Stockholm University Astrobiology Centre, and the University of Neu-Ulm will function as co-organisers of the conference:


    • Impacts and the early history of the Solar System
    • Impact structures as indicators of target properties
    • Role of impacts in delivery and formation of the building blocks for life
    • Impact-generated habitats for life
    • Environment effects of impacts
    • Impacts as threats for life and humankind
    • Geoconservation, education and outreach of impacts


    There will be also two one-day excursions, one around the Ries crater on 4th September and one half-day excursion on 2nd September to the Steinheim crater with its famous central uplift feature.

    Registration deadline: 2025-06-30

  • EANA 2025
    2025-10-21 to 2025-10-24, Lisboa, Portugal

  • Rocky Worlds 4
    2026-01-19 to 2026-01-23, Groningen, Netherlands

    Applying the detailed empirical understanding gleaned from the terrestrial planets of our own Solar System is crucial in our interpretation of exoplanetary systems. With the ongoing and upcoming surveys to search for small planets around nearby stars, we can anticipate huge growth in the number and information on detected rocky exoplanets in the coming decades. As the characterisation of these new planetary systems proceeds it will in turn improve understanding of our own Solar System, and in particular of how potentially habitable Earth-like planets form, evolve, and are distributed throughout the galaxy. The Rocky Worlds Meeting Series brings together planetary scientists, astronomers, and earth scientists to foster discussion and build the collaborations that will pave the way for the next frontiers of rocky exoplanet discovery and characterisation.

    Abstract submission deadline: 2025-09-14
    Registration deadline: 2025-12-14