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.
  • Introduction to Planetary Protection
    2026-10-06 to 2026-10-08, Stuttgart, Germany

    This course provides an overview of international policies, standards and methodologies used to implement planetary protection measures in space missions. It includes discussions on compliance to UN Outer Space Treaty requiring space explorations to avoid harmful contamination of celestial bodies (including the Moon) and adverse changes in the environment of Earth (as a result of introduction of extra-terrestrial matter). Emphasis will be put on both theoretical, management and practical aspects of planetary protection, with hands-on laboratory training in microbial sampling and cleanroom activities. The course is taught by international experts in the field of planetary protection, with knowledge across multiple disciplines, as well as direct involvement in state-of-the-art astrobiology missions.

  • Training School "Mars and the Earthlings: Can we, and should we, go to Mars?"
    2026-10-08 to 2026-10-13, Obernai, France

    This training school stemmed from the European Astrobiology Institute’s Project Team “Mars and the Earthlings”, whose goal is to provide reliable information and foster healthy, evidence-based discussions on human Mars exploration.

    Among the topics to be covered are the Martian geology and climate, robotic missions to Mars, crewed orbital flight, permanent settlements on Mars, and terraforming. On top of technical and scientific challenges, each topic will be looked at from economic, legal, societal, psychological, and medical perspectives.

    In parallel to lectures, students will work on a group project aiming at developing a detailed and realistic scenario of the human exploration of Mars, with each group exploring one aspect of the mission (engineering, science, law, economics, ethics, etc.).

  • HWO2026 Conference: Where cutting-edge science shapes tomorrow's technology
    2026-11-30 to 2026-12-04, Paris (France)

    We are delighted to announce the second open community event for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), to be held in Paris, France, from November 30 to December 4, 2026. Building on the momentum of the inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C. (July 2025), this conference will unite expert scientists, engineers, and technology developers to define HWO as the ambitious mission capable of directly imaging "Earth 2.0" and addressing key astronomical questions of the latter half of this century.

    Planned as NASA Astrophysics’ next flagship mission, HWO is a multi-purpose observatory equipped with ultraviolet, optical, and infrared instrumentation. While one of its primary scientific drivers is the characterization of planets in the habitable zone and the search for biosignatures, its powerful capabilities will also enable the scientific community to investigate long-standing open questions in all domains of astrophysics (cosmology, stellar physics, extragalactic,...) and to confront emerging challenges we are only beginning to identify.
    HWO stands on the shoulders of giants, leveraging the knowledge and experience gained from the Hubble, James Webb, and Roman Space Telescopes. However, realising its full potential requires bold new technologies. Already identified during the HWO2025 conference, these technologies are now being rigorously developed and assessed by the HWO academic and industrial community.

    Given the strong interest from the European community, we are proud to organize HWO2026 in Europe. This event aims to showcase the unique scientific problems that only HWO can solve, inspire synergies with current and contemporary facilities, and foster interactions between scientific and engineering communities to drive the development of visionary technologies.


    Regular Registration: 2026-11-08