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.
- Are We a Unique Species on a Unique Planet? – or are we just the ordinary Galactic standard?
2024-07-30 to 2024-08-02, Copenhagen, Denmark
From exoplanets to biology to future of life
Homo sapiens may be the only species in the entire Galaxy with an intelligence advanced enough to understand how it all arose and evolved. But we may also be so dumb that we just don’t understand that the universe is already teaming with life everywhere, similar, or very different from ourselves. Each of the scenarios would be equally fascinating, and the sign of a road towards a meaningful answer has never been closer than it is today. We are lucky to have convinced world-leading experts to come to Copenhagen to discuss the issue with us during four intense conference days.
The meeting starts with discussing the achievements and perspective toward understanding how planets form and how planetary systems around other stars look like compared to our own solar system. Is there something special about our Earth, or maybe in the formation and configuration of the entire Solar system, that could make us suspect that life arose only on the small blue dot where we (happen to?) live? Do basic physics and chemistry demand that the same starting conditions will always lead to the same, habitable, or inhabitable, planetary outcome?
The first pre-biological molecules seem to have formed already in the dusty clouds that seeded the planet formation, but did they play a role for the later rise of the first life? Earth-sized planets seem to be among the most common exoplanets, and a large fraction of them are within the habitable zone of their host star. But does this number tell us anything meaningful about how common life is? --and once life has arisen, does biology then tell us anything general about which direction it will take?
Evolution on Earth brought us to what we may consider the climax of obtainable intelligence, but could reality be that we are just a stepping stone in evolution’s trajectory toward creating the first non-biological intelligence, which will sooner or later be responsible for bringing the universe itself to life? Are there ways in which we can observe if alien civilizations are on the same track, and how it went for them? In other words, are we in the front of behind “the great filter” of evolution?
- Early Career Workshop: Microsatellites and their use in planetary and astrobiology research
2024-08-24 to 2024-08-31, Tartu, Estonia
The aim of the workshop "Microsatellites and their use in planetary and astrobiology research" will be to enable students and early career scientists to design micro-and nanosatellite missions tackling scientific themes and target objects they have chosen themselves previously. he workshop will consist of a lectured part, a mission designing part, and a final presentation of the projects.
In order to plan missions involving such small satellites successfully, intensive interaction and cooperation between scientists and space technologists are necessary, which is still lacking in some potential key applications. The work on the mission designs will continue after the workshop, thus ensuring a long-term impact.
The workshop will consist of lectures by leading scientists, planning of for different micro- or nanosatellite projects in small groups as well as open discussions. Participants will also have the possibility to display their own research results in a poster session. Furthermore, a one-day excursion to South-Estonia and a walk around Tartu is included as a social program.
The European Astrobiology Institute (EAI), Univeristy of Tartu and Stockholm University Astrobiology Centre will function as co-organisers of the workshop. A limited number of bursaries for students and early career scientists from EAI institutions will be available.
- COST/DAN 2024 summer school on the astrochemistry of star & planet formation
2024-08-26 to 2024-08-30, Groningen, The Netherlands
We are very happy to announce that the 2024 COST/DAN summer school on the astrochemistry of star & planet formation will be held 26-30 August 2024 in Groningen, The Netherlands. Detailed information about the such as the programme, organising committees, registration, logistics, etc. can be found on the school’s website.
The Astrochemistry Training School is organized by the COST Action NanoSpace (CA21126) in collaboration with the Dutch Astrochemistry Network (DAN). The main goal of the school is to provide PhD students and young researchers with specialised knowledge and training in the field of astrochemistry (e.g., theoretical and experimental tools). The programme will include sessions on astrophysical context, chemical processes in space, laboratory techniques, numerical models and theory, and the future of astrochemistry, as well as series of practical exercises and a participant poster session.
The school will be in person with attendance limited to 50-60 trainees and with priority given to PhD students and Young Researchers, who are strongly encouraged to participate. There is no registration fee and the NanoSpace COST Action will provide financial support (i.e. reimbursement after the event) for a significant number of participants (at least 20-30), with high priority to those with a primary affiliation at an institution located in an Inclusiveness Target Country (ITC) / Near Neighbour Country (NNC) participating in the COST Action. The information requested in the registration form will be used to select the final list of registered participants as well as those eligible for financial support, which will be notified in advance of the Training School (i.e., in the last week of May). The attendees are expected to arrange their own travel and accommodation following the instructions given by the organizing committee in due time.
Confirmed lecturers include:
Sergio Ioppolo, Aarhus University, Denmark
Thanja Lamberts, Leiden University, The Netherlands
Sandra Brünken, Radboud University, The Netherlands
Javier Goicoechea, Instituto de Física Fundamental (IFF-CSIC), Spain
Floris van der Tak, SRON, The Netherlands
Jacques le Bourlot, Observatoire de Paris, France
Maryvonne Gerin, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
Inga Kamp, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Gerrit Groenenboom, Radboud University, The Netherlands
Alessandra Candian, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands - EANA 2024
2024-09-03 to 2024-09-06, Graz, Austria
After a very successful EANA2023 in Madrid, we are happy to announce that EANA2024 will take place from September 3rd to 6th 2024 in Graz, Austria. It will be hosted by the Space Research Institute (IWF) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) in cooperation with the Technische Universität Graz. The venue will be the "Alte Technik", which was the original building of the new Imperial and Royal Technical College built in the 1880s.
Please, mark the first week of September 2024 in your calendar! Further information and details will follow within the next months. - Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2024
2024-09-08 to 2024-09-13, Berlin, Germany
Aims & scope
The intention of the Europlanet Science Congress 2024 is to cover a broad area of science topics related to planetary science and planetary missions. The programme of the congress will contain oral and poster sessions, as well as workshops and panel discussions and provide with ample opportunities for interaction between the participants.
The Scientific Organizing Committee of the EPSC2024 invites all planetary scientists to participate in the congress, submit contributions to the topical sessions and share their research with their colleagues.
We are looking forward to meeting everyone at EPSC2024 in Berlin. EPSC2024 will be organized as a fully hybrid meeting and will allow virtual access to all oral and poster sessions.
The ethos for EPSC2024 is to create a simple, flexible, and inclusive meeting that provides multiple opportunities for interaction, scientific discussion, and networking.
About the Europlanet Science Congress
The Europlanet Science Congress (formerly the European Planetary Science Congress) is the annual meeting place of the Europlanet Society. First held in Berlin in 2006 and regularly attracting more than 1,000 participants, the Europlanet Science Congress is the largest planetary science meeting in Europe. It covers the entire range of planetary sciences with an extensive mix of talks, workshops and poster sessions while providing a unique space for networking and exchange of experiences.
Early registration deadline: 2024-07-31 - Social, Legal and Ethical Frontiers in Space Exploration
2024-09-23 to 2024-09-25, Kiruna, Sweden
A joint meeting of the European Astrobiology Institute and the Society for Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology
This meeting will bring scholars, students, politicians, journalists and other stakeholders together to discuss the ethical, political legal, societal and environmental aspects of space exploration.
The meeting is co-organised by the European Astrobiology Institute and the Society for Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology.
The conference will take place at Malmfälten Adult Education Centre in Kiruna, Sweden. Kiruna is 300 km north of the arctic circle and home to the Swedish ESRANGE Space Center and Rocket Range. This promises to be a conference to remember, as it takes place during Lapland’s beautiful Indian Summer, which offers good prospectives for viewing the Northern Lights, and features tours of the Space Center and other local attractions along with an interesting and highly interdisciplinary program.
Experts from every discipline interested in exploring the many complex social and ethical questions raised by space exploration and the search for life on other planets are invited to attend the first joint meeting of the two major groups devoted to this end. We welcome submissions addressing any of the many “broader questions” in astrobiology and space exploration such as:
Commercial activity in space
Human colonization of other worlds
The true nature of “life”’
Emerging issues in space law
Ethical questions regarding the search for extraterrestrial life and intelligence
Balancing diverse cultural perspectives in space research
Space Mining and ownership of space “resources”
First Contact protocols
“Pollution” in the context of space
Societal and religious implications of a possible discovery of extraterrestrial life
Fictional portrayals of space
- Interdisciplinary Origin of Life Meeting 2024 (IOoL2024)
2024-09-23 to 2024-09-25, Strasbourg, France
OoLEN is pleased to announce that the Interdisciplinary Origin of Life Meeting 2024 (IOoL2024) will take place at the University of Strasbourg in the Palais Universitaire building in Strasbourg, France, on 23rd - 25th September, 2024. This event is a fantastic opportunity for early career researchers to reconnect and join in discussions about the future of the field of origins of life.
All early-career researchers who actively work in Origin of Life research and connected fields (master, PhD, post-doc, PI < 3 years) are encouraged to apply and will have the opportunity to present their research and expand their professional network. An OoLEN membership is encouraged but not required to attend the meeting.
Further information: https://www.oolen.org/news-and-events/in-person-meetings/iool2024/
Direct link to registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qZh-5cMes0XTgCiiqK_BRV3lPLxrnyaqZwhixbsu_MU/
Extended registration deadline: June 21, 2024
Cost: No fee, but participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation!
Contact: Yannick Geiger, y.geiger@unistra.fr
IOoL24 Organizing Committee: Yannick Geiger, Celia Blanco, Omer Markovitch (co-organizers: Golo Storch (CRC 392 Molecular Evolution in Prebiotic Environments), Fondation Jean-Marie Lehn)
OoLEN Executive Board: Silke Asche, Alexandre Champagne, Zhen Peng, Loraine Schwander, Klaus Paschek - 7th NoRCEL Conference: Reactive Oxygen Species
2024-10-30 to 2024-11-01, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
In 2024, NoRCEL’s spotlight will be focussing on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other relevant, related topics. In recent years, research on ROS across several disciplines has advanced rapidly. The outcome being significant new results on their generation, interactions and decay on rocky and icy planetary (and other astronomical) bodies, as well as with pre-biotic chemistry and the emergence of life – in addition to their relationships with biology including (contentiously) primitive anaerobic life. It is timely to now draw these advances together, for the first time in a big-picture, cross-disciplinary themed ‘summit’, with the aim of synthesizing current knowledge and surveying related open questions. We can also look at the planning of future interdisciplinary researches on the complicated roles played by these energetic – and enigmatic – species in our dynamic Solar System.
Students and junior Post Docs may apply for a travel bursary of up to £400. In addition, they will only have to pay the discounted registration fee of £100 for in person attendance at the event. Once registered, they will receive an application form.