Early Career Event: AbGradEPEC’24 – 8th September 2024

April 22, 2024

Early Career Event: AbGradEPEC’24 – 8th September 2024

We are back! EPEC will once again team up with AbGradE for EPSC 2024, expanding network opportunities for early career scientists and students.

This year we invite you on Sunday, September 8th for a symposium at the Freie Universität comprising of contributed talks and a workshop on career development given by an ESA fellow and a former ESA intern. The event fee is 10 euros, details on payment will be sent to you in due course.

The deadline for registration is June 30th and can be accomplished with the following form.

The deadline for abstracts is June 1st. For contributed talks, please send a short abstract (max. 200 words) using the template to abgrade@eana-net.eu. We invite early careers to present the work that they either present as a poster at EPSC2024 or any other project not presented at EPSC2024. Letters of acceptance will be sent out by mid-June.

More information can be found at abgrade.eu/abgradepec24.

We look forward to meeting you all in Berlin for what promises to be our biggest joint event yet!

Issue 6 of the Europlanet Magazine is out now!

April 18, 2024

Issue 6 of the Europlanet Magazine is out now!

In this issue:

In Focus

A round up of news from Europlanet and the planetary community, including:

Cover of issue 6 of the Europlanet Magazine. — Cover of Issue 6 of the Europlanet Magazine.

• New Board Members of the Europlanet Society
• New EPEC Co-Chairs
• Join us on Discord!
• DPS-EPSC Joint Meeting 2023
• EPSC in Berlin and Beyond!
• GMAP Winter School
• Europlanet at Space Tech Expo Europe
• European Space Weather Week
• 1st Europlanet Latin America Workshop
• Europlanet Committee Funding Scheme Results 2023
• Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement 2023
• Farinella Prize 2023
• Students as Planetary Defenders
• Blink of a Star
• Polish Experiments to Fly on ISS
• EXPLORE Apps for Lunar, Stellar & Galactic Research

Machine Learning for a Data Driven Era of Planetary Science

Stavro Ivanovski (INAF-Trieste Astronomical Observatory, Italy), Angelo Pio Rossi (Constructor University, Germany), Jeronimo Bernard-Salas (ACRI-ST, France), and Anita Heward (DFET, UK) look at how Machine Learning (ML) is revolutionising planetary science.

Planetary Perspectives: Meet the New Europlanet Society Board

This edition of Planetary Perspectives finds out more about interests, backgrounds and ambitions for the Europlanet Society of the members of the Executive Board elected and taking up new roles in November 2023.

Supporting Astronomy in Ukraine

Gražina Tautvaišienė (Vilnius University, Lithuania), describes how a Europlanet programme is supporting Ukrainian colleagues to continue their research.

ERIM 2023: A New Kind of Europlanet Meeting

Anita Heward (Chair of the ERIM Organising Committee and Europlanet Sustainability Committee) reports on how the Europlanet Research Infrastructure Meeting (ERIM) in Bratislava has helped to lay the foundations for a sustainable Europlanet.

EPEC Annual Week: A Melting Pot of Ideas

James McKevitt (University of Vienna, Austria and UCL, UK) reflects on the outcomes of the Europlanet Early Career event, EPEC Annual Week, held in Bratislava, Slovakia in June 2023.

Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Science

The Europlanet Policy Team reports on a policy workshop that took place as part of the Europlanet Research Infrastructure Meeting (ERIM) 2023 last June.

The Ecological Footprint of Astronomy

Thibaut Roger (University of Bern, Switzerland) reports on a session at ERIM to initiate a discussion about the ecological impact of astronomy and planetary research activities

ERIM Goes to Schools

Thibaut Roger (University of Bern, Switzerland) and Barbara Cavalazzi (University of Bologna, Italy) bring astrobiology and planetary science to schools in Bratislava.

Diving into the Heavens: The Solar System Scope Project

Jozef Bodlak (Solar System Scope) tells the story behind the Solar System Scope – an app that takes users on an immersive journey with the aim of bringing the grandeur of space to the fingertips of people around the world.

The Making of ‘The Making of Juice’

Maarten Roos-Serote (Lightcurve Films, Portugal) shares a unique view behind the scenes of the making of the Juice mission.

Molėtai Magic

Alejandro Luis García Muñoz reports on the Europlanet Summer School 2023 at the Molėtai Astronomical Observatory in Lithuania.

Orionids Workshop 2023

Miloš Obert, Chair of the Slovak Union of Astronomers, reports on the Orionids 2023 astro-camp on meteor observations.

Dusting the Moon

Karolien Lefever and Sylvain Ranvier (BIRA-IASB, Belgium) report on DUSTER, a project that gets to grips with lunar dust in preparation for future exploration missions.

Commkit – The Dream of AI

Thibaut Roger (University of Bern, Switzerland) examines how AI can be useful for scientific outreach and communication, as well as the limitations.

The Last Word – Europlanet: A Page Turns

Ann Carine Vandaele, President of the Europlanet Society, reflects on sustainability plans for Europlanet.

Download Issue 6

EPSC Goes Live for Schools 2024

April 14, 2024

EPSC Goes Live for Schools 2024 / 4th edition

During the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) from 7-13 September 2024, Berlin will become a travelling hotspot for planetary scientists. EPSC Goes Live For Schools 2024 will brings participants into contact with classrooms in Berlin and beyond.

It’s been 4 years since the first edition of “EPSC goes live for schools”. Since the initial online edition, developed in the context of the pandemic lockdown, we have come a long way! In the intervening years we have managed to add on-site components, thus fulfilling the main aim of our partner, Lecturers Without Borders (Lewibo): give travelling scientists the opportunity to share their knowledge with the local community of schools, creating a temporary hotspot of sharing science with the local community!

In 2024, we are doing it again with our partners: LeWiBo, Europlanet Society, EPEC, DLR_School_Lab Berlin, MINToring program and Freie Universität Berlin. During the two weeks of 9th-20th September 2024 get ready to explore the planets of our solar system, to learn the latest in planetary science, but also to ask your questions to early career researchers in chats and more.

Would you like to participate in EPSC Goes Live for Schools 2024 as a scientist?

Tick the box to express interest when you submit your abstract for the meeting.

Would you like to join EPSC24 with your classroom?

If your school is located in Berlin you have the opportunity for a scientist to visit you and even host an art-workshop after the scientist’s visit and create a stop-motion movie on the spot (STEAM Lecture).

Some of the organised activities include:

“Cosmic interviews” where students meet researchers in person (on-site) | STOP-motion movie creation with berliner artist Carolina Boettner (on-site) | Presenting educational resources developed by Europlanet to teachers (online) | Asychronous Q&A in online chats on planetary science with early carreer researchers (online) | Planetary science webinars (online) | Arts contest #Inspiredbyotherworlds (online)

The Art Contest #inspiredbyotherworlds is already open for registration to students in all locations. Learn more on the Europlanet webpage.

Languages supported:

The events will be held in German or English.

*According to your location (in Berlin or elsewhere) we will send you the on-site or online programme of activities.

Apply to host EPSC in 2026 and 2027!

April 11, 2024

Apply to host EPSC in 2026 and 2027!

Deadline for applications extended to 15 May 2024

We are delighted to announce the call to host the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) in 2026 or 2027. EPSC is the major European meeting on planetary science, regularly attracting 1000-1200 participants from around the world, and is the annual meeting of the Europlanet Society.

Top level requirements: EPSC 2026 and 2027 should be hosted in a European city under the responsibility of a very motivated and very capable LOC (Local Organisation Committee) led by a research institute/research organisation with close links to the local planetary science community. The proposed venue should be able to accommodate 1200+ participants onsite and offer options to allow hybrid access for virtual participation.

Facilities should include a large auditorium for 350-400 participants, a large lecture hall for 160-200 participants, 2-3 rooms for up to 100 participants, and 2-3 rooms for up to 70 participants, as well as several smaller rooms for splinters, workshops, press conferences etc. The venue should include areas for coffee breaks, seating and working spaces, as well as the capacity to display 300 posters (300 single sided or 150 double sided) and to accommodate 10-20 exhibition booths. All facilities, including venues for proposed social event(s), should be of high-quality and accessible to all attendees, including those with reduced mobility and wheelchair users.

The venue should be in a safe and attractive location with excellent transport links (at both an international and local scale). Low-cost transportation and suitably priced accommodation for students should be available.

Process: Candidate host Institutes/organisations are welcome to apply for either or both 2026 and 2027. The preferred timing for EPSC 2026 is early-mid September, avoiding holidays (e.g. Yom Kippur). The dates for EPSC 2027 should ideally be 19-24 September to allow for reciprocal joint hybrid activities with the AAS Division of Planetary Sciences (DPS), which will take place that week in Providence, RI, US.

To respond to this call, please download the application pack from the call page on the Europlanet Society website: https://www.europlanet-society.org/epsc/call-for-hosting-epsc-2026-and-epsc-2027/. The application pack contains a detailed summary of the venue requirements, as well as a set of guidelines that draw on the experience of past EPSC hosts.

Applicants should fill in the application form on the call page to submit:

A document setting out your proposal in full, addressing all the areas listed in the venue requirements.
A completed EPSC Proposal Budget Template (Excel spreadsheet in the application pack).
A completed EPSC Room Requirements Template (Excel spreadsheet in the application pack).

Tentative calendar:

Deadline for applications: ~~19 April 2024~~ 15 May 2024
Early site visit: June-July, (to be confirmed)
Proposal evaluation: July/August
Host selection: Announced at EPSC2024.

Any questions should be addressed to epsc@europlanet-society.org. We look forward to receiving your proposals.

Lena Noack, EPSC Executive Committee Chair
Anita Heward, EPSC Executive Committee Acting Vice Chair
Ann Carine Vandaele, President of the Europlanet Society and Europlanet Association
Didier Moreau, Treasurer of the Europlanet Society and Europlanet Association
Mario Ebel, Copernicus Meetings

14th “Paolo Farinella’’ Prize, 2024

April 3, 2024

14th “Paolo Farinella’’ Prize, 2024

To honor the memory and the outstanding figure of Paolo Farinella (1953-2000), an extraordinary scientist and person, a prize has been established in recognition of significant contributions in the fields of interest of Paolo, which spanned from planetary sciences to space geodesy, fundamental physics, science popularization, security in space, weapon control and disarmament.

The call for nominations for the 14th edition is now open. The 14th Paolo Farinella Prize will be awarded to a young scientist with outstanding contributions in the field of planetary science concerning “Internal structure of planetary bodies: clues on formation processes of the Solar System“, including theoretical, modelling, experimental and observational work on the internal structure of solar system bodies, namely planets, satellites, and small bodies. The award winner will be honored during the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2024 in Berlin (Germany).

For the 14th “Paolo Farinella” Prize, the terms and rules are as follows:

1. A competition is announced to award the “Paolo Farinella” Prize for the year 2024. The prize consists of a plate, a certificate and the amount of 1500 €. The winner is expected to give a Prize Lecture during EPSC2024.

2. The winner will be selected on the basis of his/her overall research results in the field of “Internal structure of planetary bodies: clues on formation processes of the Solar System“.

3. Nominations must be sent by email not later than 15 May 2024 to the following addresses: addresses: fnimmo@ucsc.edu, acb@ua.es and david.lucchesi@inaf.it, using the form downloadable from this link.

4. The nominations for the “Paolo Farinella” Prize can be made by any researcher that works in the field of planetary sciences following the indications in the downloadable form. Self-nominations are acceptable. The candidates should have international and interdisciplinary collaborations and should be not older than the age of Paolo when he passed away, 47 years, as of 15 May 2024.

5. The winner of the prize will be selected before 15 June 2024 by the “Paolo Farinella” Prize Committee, composed of outstanding scientists in planetary sciences, with specific experience in the field.

6. The Prize Committee will consider all the nominations, but it will be entitled to autonomously consider other candidates.

More about the Farinella Prize

EPSC2024 – Call for Abstracts

March 27, 2024

EPSC2024 – Call for Abstracts

We invite the world-wide community of planetary scientists to submit an abstract for presentation of their recent work at the EPSC2024 meeting, which will take place at the Henry Ford Building of the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, 8–13 September 2024. EPSC2024 will be organized as a fully hybrid meeting and will allow virtual access to all oral and poster sessions.

We are looking forward to meeting everyone in person this year in Berlin. The ethos for EPSC2024 is to create a simple, flexible, and inclusive meeting that provides multiple opportunities for interaction, scientific discussion, and networking. The programme of the congress will contain oral and poster sessions, as well as workshops and panel discussions.

The current list of sessions is organized around the following Programme Groups:

• Terrestrial Planets (TP)
• Outer Planet Systems (OPS)
• Missions, Instrumentation, Techniques, Modelling (MITM)
• Small Bodies (comets, KBOs, rings, asteroids, meteorites, dust) (SB)
• Exoplanets, Origins of Planetary Systems and Astrobiology (EXOA)
• Outreach, Diversity, Amateur Astronomy (ODAA)

The scientific programme and the abstract submission tool are accessible at: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC2024/sessionprogramme

Please browse the list of sessions and identify the session that most closely matches your area of interest; your abstract can be submitted directly to that session.

The abstract submission deadline is 13:00 CEST, 15 May 2024.

You may see all deadlines & milestones of the conference at the following website: https://www.epsc2024.eu/information/deadlines.html

Information on registration and social events, as well as a separate online form for requesting splinter meetings & workshops will also be available soon on the meeting web site.

Lena Noack & Anita Heward (on behalf of the EPSC committee)
Stavro Ivanovski & Ákos Kereszturi (on behalf of the Scientific Organizing Committee)
Mario Ebel (on behalf of Copernicus Meetings)

Get creative with Europlanet’s #InspiredByOtherWorlds arts contest 2024

March 11, 2024

Get creative with Europlanet’s #InspiredByOtherWorlds arts contest 2024

The Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2024 is inviting schools and space enthusiasts of all ages to get creative and share their artworks and performances inspired by other worlds in a contest called #InspiredByOtherWorlds.

The theme this year is ‘Returning to Earth’.

About the contest

With missions like OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 in the headlines, this year’s contest looks at ideas around returning to Earth samples and clues on the origin of our Solar system and life!

Art is meant to inspire. Art is meant to be shared. Art allows us to go beyond our limits. Planetary science takes us beyond the limits of our world. What happens when a passion for art and a passion for exploring planets and other worlds meet? Let your imagination take us on a voyage through our Solar System and back to Earth! Show us how you have been inspired to create drawings, storytelling, pictures, videos, stop-motion animations, models, craft works or art installations at home.

The deadline for the competition is 09 September 2024.

Entries for #InspiredByOtherWorlds will be showcased during EPSC2024 in Berlin.

All artworks submitted will be judged by a panel of planetary scientists and artists. The winning artworks or performances will be shared via the Europlanet website, newsletters and social media and will be used to inspire young people in future Europlanet outreach activities.

So get creating!

Rules

For all the information about the contest, see the #InspiredByOtherWorlds FAQ page. If you’d also like to share on social media please use the hashtags #InspiredByOtherWorlds #EPSC2024.

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact stavro.ivanovski@inaf.it .

Acknowledgements

The #InspiredByOtherWorlds arts contest 2024 is supported by the Europlanet Society, the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) and Lecturers Without Borders.

Enter the contest

Reminder – EPSC2024 Call for Sessions

February 15, 2024

Reminder – EPSC2024 Call for Sessions

The Europlanet Science Congress 2024 (EPSC2024) will take place from 8-13 September 2024 at the Henry Ford Building at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.

The Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) is the annual meeting place of the Europlanet Society. With a track record of 18 years and regularly attracting around 1,000 participants, the Europlanet Science Congress is the largest planetary science meeting in Europe. It covers the entire range of planetary sciences.

The success of our meeting is founded on the excellence of the scientific sessions and as well as the session conveners. We therefore encourage you to submit session proposals through the conference website by 6 March 2024 at https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/epsc2024/provisionalprogramme

Session can be proposed for the following programme groups:

TP – Terrestrial Planets
OPS – Outer Planet Systems
MITM – Missions, Instrumentation, Techniques, Modelling
SB – Small Bodies (comets, KBOs, rings, asteroids, meteorites, dust)
EXOA – Exoplanets, Origins of Planetary Systems and Astrobiology
ODAA – Outreach, Diversity, Amateur Astronomy

We will support conveners in their role by giving clearly defined guidelines, tools, tutorials and training – which will soon be released.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at epsc2024@copernicus.org in case of any questions or doubts.

Stavro Ivanovski and Akos Kereszturi
Scientific organizing committee Co-Chairs

Lena Noack
EPSC committee Chair

Key Deadlines and Milestones for EPSC2024

Date	Task
16 Jan–06 Mar 2024	Call-for-sessions
21 Mar 2024	Call-for-abstracts
15 May 2024, 13:00 CEST	Abstract submission deadline
05 June 2024	Letter of acceptance email
03 July 2024	Letter of schedule email
31 July 2024	Deadline for presenter registration
31 July 2024	Early registration deadline
08–13 Sep 2024	Europlanet Science Congress 2024

All Deadlines and Milestones

2023 Farinella Prize Awarded to Federica Spoto and Diego Turrini

October 2, 2023

2023 Farinella Prize Awarded to Federica Spoto and Diego Turrini

Europlanet Society Press Release

Dr Federica Spoto, of the Minor Planet Centre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and Dr Diego Turrini, of the National Institute for Astrophysics – Turin Astrophysical Observatory (INAF-OATo) in Italy, have been awarded jointly the 2023 Paolo Farinella Prize for their outstanding contributions to the field “From superbolides to meteorites: physics and dynamics of small planetary impactors”. The award ceremony will take place during the 55th Annual Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) meeting joint with the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) in San Antonio, Texas, and online and will be followed by prize lectures by each of the winners.

The annual prize was established in 2010 to honour the memory of the Italian scientist Paolo Farinella (1953-2000). Each year, the prize acknowledges an outstanding researcher not older than 47 years (the age of Prof Farinella when he passed away) who has achieved important results in one of Prof Farinella’s fields of work. Each edition of the prize focuses on a different research area and, in 2023, the topic was chosen to highlight recent advances in knowledge about small-size Near-Earth Object (NEO) populations. The award is supported by the Europlanet Society.

Ettore Perozzi, Senior Scientist at the Science Directorate of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Chair of the 2023 Paolo Farinella Committee, said on behalf of the Prize Committee: “The work of Diego Turrini has provided deep insights into the collisional processes occurring early in the history of planetary systems, while Federica Spoto has paved the way to quickly identify and reliably compute the orbit of imminent impactors of the Earth. That is the beginning and the end of the long journey of meteorites.”

Dr Spoto’s research focuses on advanced methods to determine the orbits of asteroids and
the age of asteroid families. She led an international team of experts responsible for the validation of the Gaia Solar System objects, a necessary step to ensure the quality of the data in every release. Throughout her career, Dr Spoto has tackled the challenge of efficiently determining the orbits of ‘imminent impactors’ – newly discovered objects approaching our planet that, depending on their size and composition, could result in meteorites reaching the ground and potentially causing significant damage.

“Federica’s outstanding contribution has been twofold: addressing from a theoretical point of view a highly complex chaotic orbit determination problem, and translating the results into practical algorithms for responding to the needs of the operational systems for planetary defence,” said Dr Perozzi.

Through theoretical work, modelling and observations, Dr Turrini has investigated the dynamical and collisional evolution of Solar System bodies, in particular during the early phases of planetary formation. His work highlights the role small planetary impactors play in shaping planetary bodies and their surfaces through collisional erosion and contaminating their chemical composition. He led the development of the ‘Jovian Early Bombardment’ scenario, which describes how the formation and migration of Jupiter triggered a primordial bombardment in the asteroid belt, and the search for its signatures in protoplanetary disks hosting newly formed giant planets. As a scientific team member of the visible and infrared imaging spectrometer (VIR) instrument on the Dawn mission, Dr Turrini combined impact contamination models with in-situ measurements of Vesta and meteoritic data to explain the abundance of dark, carbon-rich material, as well as the unexpected presence of water and olivine deposits, on the surface of Vesta, the second biggest asteroid in the Solar System. These methods developed to study the contamination of asteroids are now providing the basis for investigating how small impactors shape the atmospheric composition of giant exoplanets.

“Diego’s impressive list of participation in high-level committees, such as the ESA Solar System and Exploration Working Group (SSEWG), and his involvement in past, present and future space missions, including Dawn, Juno, Ariel, JUICE and BepiColombo, witness the appreciation of his work by the international astronomical and space science communities,” said Dr Perozzi.

Dr Spoto obtained her academic degrees in celestial mechanics at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Pisa, Italy. She then moved to France to take up post-doctoral positions at Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur and at the Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Éphémérides (IMCCE) in Paris. In February 2020, she joined the IAU Minor Planet Centre where she now holds the role of project scientist.

Dr Turrini obtained a Master’s degree in physics at the University of Milano Bicocca and a PhD in space science and technology at the Center of Studies and Activities for Space (CISAS) “Giuseppe Colombo” at the University of Padova, Italy. He then moved to INAF for his post-doctoral studies and is currently a researcher at INAF-OATo, on transfer from the INAF – Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology (INAF-IAPS) in Rome.

About the Paolo Farinella Prize

The Paolo Farinella Prize (https://www.europlanet-society.org/paolo-farinella-prize/) was established to honour the memory and the outstanding figure of Paolo Farinella (1953-2000), an extraordinary scientist and person. The prize is awarded in recognition of significant contributions given in the fields of interest of Farinella, which span from planetary sciences to space geodesy, fundamental physics, science popularization, and security in space, weapons control and disarmament. The winner of the prize is selected each year on the basis of their overall research results in a chosen field. Candidates must participate in international and interdisciplinary collaborations, and be not older than 47 years, the age of Farinella when he passed away, at the date of 25 March 2000. The prize was first proposed during the ‘International Workshop on Paolo Farinella the scientist and the man’, held in Pisa in 2010 and supported by the University of Pisa, ISTI/CNR and by IAPS-INAF (Rome), and first awarded in 2011.

The 2023 Paolo Farinella Prize Committee:

Ettore Perozzi (ASI, Italy), Chair
Alceste Bonanos (National Observatory of Athens, Greece)
Daniele Gardiol (INAF – Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy)
Maria Hajdukova (Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences)
Robert Jedicke (University of Hawaii, USA)
Peter Jenniskens (SETI Institute, USA)

Paolo Farinella Prize winners:

2011: William Bottke (Physics and dynamics of small Solar System bodies)
2012: John Chambers (Formation and early evolution of the Solar System)
2013: Patrick Michel (Collisional processes in the Solar System)
2014: David Vokrouhlicky (Understanding of the dynamics and physics of Solar System, including how pressure from solar radiation affects the orbits of both asteroids and artificial satellites)
2015: Nicolas Biver (Molecular and isotopic composition of cometary volatiles by means of submillimetre and millimetre ground and space observations)
2016: Kleomenis Tsiganis (Studies of the applications of celestial mechanics to the dynamics of planetary systems, including the development of the Nice model)
2017: Simone Marchi (Understanding the complex problems related to the impact history and physical evolution of the inner Solar System, including the Moon)
2018: Francis Nimmo (Understanding of the internal structure and evolution of icy bodies in the Solar System and the resulting influence on their surface processes)
2019: Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo (Observational characterisation of the Kuiper belt and the Neptune-trojan population)
2020: Jonathan Fortney and Heather Knutson (Understanding of the structure, evolution and atmospheric dynamics of giant planets)
2021: Diana Valencia and Lena Noack (Understanding of the interior structure and dynamics of terrestrial and super-Earth exoplanets)
2022: Julie Castillo-Rogez and Martin Jutzi (Asteroids: Physics, Dynamics, Modelling and Observations)

Images

Farinella Prize winner 2023: Federica Spoto. — Dr Federica Spoto, joint winner of the Farinella Prize 2023. Credit: Jonathan Sullivan.

Download the full resolution image:
https://www.europlanet-society.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Federica_Spoto_Farinella_2023.jpg

Farinella Prize winner 2023: Diego Turrini. — Dr Diego Turrini, joint winner of the Farinella Prize 2023. Credit: Danae Polychroni

Download the full resolution image:
https://www.europlanet-society.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Diego_Turrini_Farinella_2023.jpg

Science Contacts

Dr Federica Spoto
Minor Planet Center
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Cambridge (MA)
USA
Phone: +1 (617) 495-7170
federica.spoto@cfa.harvard.edu

Dr Diego Turrini
National Institute for Astrophysics
Turin Astrophysical Observatory (INAF-OATo)
Italy
Phone: +39 011 8101933
diego.turrini@inaf.it

Media Contact

Anita Heward
Press Officer
Europlanet Society
Phone: +44 7756 034243
a.heward@europlanet-society.org

About Europlanet

Since 2005, Europlanet has provided Europe’s planetary science community with a platform to exchange ideas and personnel, share research tools, data and facilities, define key science goals for the future, and engage stakeholders, policy makers and European citizens with planetary science.

The Europlanet Society (www.europlanet-society.org) promotes the advancement of European planetary science and related fields for the benefit of the community and is open to individual and organisational members. The Society’s aims are:
• To expand and support a diverse and inclusive planetary community across Europe through the activities of its 10 Regional Hubs.
• To build the profile of the sector through outreach, education and policy activities
• To underpin the key role Europe plays in planetary science through developing links at a national and international level.

DPS-EPSC Joint Meeting 1-6 October

October 1, 2023

DPS-EPSC Joint Meeting 1-6 October

The 55th Annual Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) meeting joint with the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) and hybrid online/virtual is taking place this week! Here is a round up of information about the meeting:

EUROPLANET AND EPEC STAND
The Europlanet Society and EPEC have a stand (#27/28) in the exhibition – stop by to say “Hi”, talk to us about any queries or suggestions you have for our activities, or find out how you can get involved with Europlanet!

JOIN THE EUROPLANET SOCIETY DISCORD SERVER
To connect with the Europlanet Team and other Europlanet Society members, please join our Discord and navigate to the DPS-EPSC23 channel and forum!

EPEC AT DPS-EPSC
Meeting Event: Early Career Happy Hour Get-together (In-person)
Thursday Oct 5, 7:00 pm Central

Informal networking event for early career conference goers. Spend a fun evening and expand your network! Planned to be held near the conference center (bar or restaurant – must pay for yourself but we will get tables together so people can chat). More details will be announced here closer to the event date (registration NOT required). This event is co-hosted by the EuroplanetEarly Career Group.

Europlanet Early Career (EPEC) General Assembly (hybrid)
Tuesday Oct 3, 5:30 – 7:00 pm Central

All early careers are encouraged to participate in the EPEC general assembly! At this assembly there will be an introduction to how EPEC is organized, an update on the past year’s activities and the latest news. Join our friendly and inclusive community!

OPEN MIC NIGHT
We will be holding the 2023 DPS open mic night on Wednesday 4th October at the Witte Museum running from 6:00 to 10:00 pm.

DPS-EPSC 2023 VIRTUAL & HYBRID PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNIITES
Our Virtual Organizing Committee has made extensive improvements to the planned quality of the DPS-EPSC 2023 Hybrid Meeting format, including: two or more dedicated cameras in each oral session room (for viewing the speaker, audience, and session chairs), a Lightning poster Zoom-session within the exhibit hall to advertise all posters, the Slack workspaces, the Engagefully app for personal itineraries, a Gathertown room for virtual posters, and a dedicated block in the Thursday schedule for virtual poster engagement by in-person attendees. There is still time to register for virtual participation through 6 October.

DPS-EPSC 2023 WEBSITE TOOLS AND RESOURCES
The AAS meeting website has many answers to the questions you might be seeking. The PLAN YOUR TRIP page has details on Ground Transportation (including a google form for Rideshares; rental cars are discouraged), recommendations For Families, and many recommendations by the LOC for great restaurants and bars nearby under the Food & Drink top-tab. Early career folks should be sure to read the PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/EARLY CAREER page, including details on the Monday evening networking reception and the Wednesday lunch-time Women in Planetary Science (WiPS) Discussion Hour. The TOOLS & RESOURCES page has info on Poster Printing, LGBTQ+ Community Resources, Accessibility Resources, Reproductive Health Resources, and how to Contact Us. Look for more timely information to come in the DPS-EPSC-2023 Slack channels #helpdesk and #aas_dps_announcements. The Engagefully app is ready to download from your phone’s app store and link to our event, with more detailed instructions soon to follow on forming your own personalized itinerary.

DPS-EPSC 2023 MEETING APP: PLAN YOUR ITINERARY TODAY
All DPS-EPSC 2023 attendees received an unclear email titled “Log in to DPS- EPSC 2023” with a link to download the main meeting app (when clicking on their preferred device). This email was indeed sent by our vendor for the app, RDMobile (no_reply@rd.com; check your Other/Spam folders). Attendees may download the Engagefully app without clicking this link, but while starting the app the main thing to note is entering the email you used to register for the meeting. Also note that we’ve contacted several people to be session chairs and found their emails to not be up to date within the AAS Membership system. Repeat the process for each device used, and note that the cross-links to Slack channels unfortunately only work on the web browser version.

Virtual Press Conferences at 2023 Meeting of Division for Planetary Sciences and Europlanet Science Congress

The 55th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS), joint with the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC), is being held in San Antonio, Texas, and virtually Sunday, 1 October, through Friday, 6 October 2023. The AAS/DPS offers complimentary press registration to bona fide working journalists and public information officers (PIOs); see details below. We will hold press conferences via Zoom on Monday, 2 October, and Wednesday, 4 October, to showcase some of the most exciting discoveries being presented at the meeting.

In addition to the briefings, the meeting features a rich science program, including plenary sessions with live panel discussions, oral presentations, a virtual poster session, and Q&A/discussions with presenters and fellow attendees via Slack.

Nearly 900 planetary scientists, journalists, and others are already registered for the conference. The meeting hashtag is #DPSEPSC2023; you may also wish to follow @DPSMeeting and @AAS_Press on Twitter.

DPS-EPSC 2023 Meeting Links:

• Meeting Website

• Block Schedule

• Press Information

Press Registration

To request complimentary press registration, first check our eligibility criteria, then send an email message to DPS Press Officer Teddy Kareta (tkareta@lowell.edu) with your name and media affiliation (or “freelance” if applicable). Upon confirming your eligibility, he’ll email you a special promotional code that you can use to register for the meeting the same way regular attendees do, i.e., via the DPS-EPSC 2023 registration page. For step-by-step instructions on what to do next, see the DPS 55 press information page.

Please register as soon as possible. Note that if you are attempting to register after the meeting is under way, we may not be able to process your registration in time for you to attend that day’s events.

Press Conference Schedule, Topics & Speakers

Press conferences will be conducted via Zoom for press registrants and any other meeting registrants wishing to attend. They’ll also be live-streamed on the AAS Press Office YouTube channel for other interested people who have not registered for the meeting. You will not be able to ask questions via YouTube — to do that, you need to register for the meeting and join the briefings via Zoom. The briefings will be archived on the AAS Press Office YouTube channel afterward.

Following is the press-conference program, which remains subject to change. Corresponding abstract numbers are shown in [square brackets]. Briefings are scheduled as follows (all times are CDT = UTC – 5 hours); each briefing will last approximately 1 hour, including time for Q&A:

Monday, 2 October, 12:15 pm CDT
Wednesday, 4 October, 12:15 pm CDT

All findings are embargoed until the time of presentation at the meeting. “Time of presentation” means the start time of the session in which the paper will be given, or the start time of the corresponding press conference (if any), whichever comes first. See the complete AAS/DPS embargo policy for more information.

Note: All new discoveries are subject to confirmation by independent teams of scientists. Inclusion here does not imply endorsement by the American Astronomical Society or the Division for Planetary Sciences. The AAS and DPS do not endorse individual scientific results.

Small Bodies and Small Moons

Monday, 2 October, 12:15 pm CDT Evidence of (16) Psyche’s Metallic Nature Found with SOFIA
Anicia Arredondo (Southwest Research Institute)
[107.07]
Photometric Properties of Phobos from Mars Express’s High Resolution Stereo Camera
Sonia Fornasier (LESIA-Université Paris Cité)
[217.08]
Does Strength Help Pluto Capture Charon?
C. Adeene Denton (University of Arizona)[308.09]Exoplanets and Large MoonsWednesday, 4 October, 12:15 pm CDTCold Ocean Planets: Super-Earths or Super-Europas?
Lynnae Quick (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
[108.04]
Unraveling Planet Formation and Dynamics across the Vast Galactic Landscape
Jon Zink (Caltech)
[403.01]
Ménec Fossae and Thrace Macula on Europa: Hints for Shallow Water Pockets and Identification of the Youngest Terrains
Pietro Matteoni (Freie Universität Berlin)
[210.02D]
Ariel Data Challenge: What Can We Learn From Outsourcing Our Problems to the AI Community
Gordon Kai Hou Yip (University College London)[109.02]

Contacts:

Dr. Theodore Kareta

DPS Press Officer

+1 617-671-5906
tkareta@lowell.edu

Dr. Susanna Kohler

AAS Communications Manager & Press Officer

+1 202-328-2010 x127

susanna.kohler@aas.org

The Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS), founded in 1968, is the largest special-interest Division of the American Astronomical Society. Members of the DPS study the bodies of our own solar system, from planets and moons to comets and asteroids, and all other solar-system objects and processes. With the discovery that planets exist around other stars, the DPS has expanded its scope to include the study of extrasolar planetary systems as well.

The American Astronomical Society (AAS), established in 1899, is a major international organization of professional astronomers, astronomy educators, and amateur astronomers. Its membership of approximately 8,000 also includes physicists, geologists, engineers, and others whose interests lie within the broad spectrum of subjects now comprising the astronomical sciences. The mission of the AAS is to enhance and share humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community, which it achieves through publishing, meetings, science advocacy, education and outreach, and training and professional development.

The Europlanet Society was formed in 2018 to promote the advancement of European planetary science and related fields for the benefit of the community and is open to individual and organizational members.

Call for Vice-Chair of EPSC Executive Committee

July 6, 2023

Call for Vice Chair of EPSC Executive Committee

Deadline: Thursday, 17 August 2023

We are looking for a volunteer to act as Vice-Chair of the EPSC Executive Committee for upcoming Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) meetings in 2024-2027.

If you would like to put yourself forward for this role, please fill in the application form.

For more information, please see the EPSC Executive Committee Terms of Reference and the Job Description for the EPSC Executive Committee Vice Chair. If you have any questions, please contact the Europlanet Society Executive Board.

Job Description

The EPSC Executive Committee Vice Chair is responsible for:

Serving as a member of the EPSC Executive Committee
Supporting the EPSC Executive Committee Chair in the commission of their duties
Standing in for the Chair where requested.

The EPSC Executive Committee Chair is responsible for:

Together with the Europlanet Society Executive Office (ESF), the Conference Organiser, and the EPSC Executive Committee, maintaining oversight of the budget for EPSC and ensuring that the conference does not operate at a loss.
Convening EPSC Executive Committee meetings and ensuring that appropriate records and actions are maintained and circulated.
Leading the EPSC Executive Committee in supporting the Scientific Organising Committee (SOC), Virtual Organising Committee (VOC), Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Conference Organiser in the practical delivery of EPSC meetings.
Extending invitations to high-level speakers and guests at EPSC.
Updating the Code of Conduct and guidelines for EPSC.
Disseminating information from the EPSC Executive Committee to the community.
Ensuring that EPSC overall upholds the Europlanet Society’s Commitment to Diversity
Overseeing incident reporting procedures.
Preparing reports for the Europlanet Society Executive Board on EPSC (including collated summaries of activities by the SOC, VOC and LOC) and overseeing evaluation of feedback from EPSC participants.
Leading the EPSC Executive Committee and Conference Organiser in preparing calls for proposals of venues for future EPSC meetings and overseeing selection process.
Liaising with the Division of Planetary Sciences in preparation of join EPSC/DPS meetings.
Liaising with Europlanet Society Committees and groups (e.g. EPEC, Industry and Regional Hubs) in preparation for Europlanet Society events at EPSC.
Organising calls for any bursary schemes in collaboration with the Europlanet Society Executive Office (ESF).

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Upcoming EPSC Meetings

EPSC2024 will take place at FU Berlin from 8-13 September 2024.
EPSC2025 will take place as a joint meeting with the DPS at Finlandia Hall in Helsinki from 7-12 September 2025
The call for venues for EPSC2026 and EPSC2027 will be issued in early 2024.

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Announcement of Changes to Venues for EPSC2024 and EPSC-DPS 2025 Joint Meeting

March 13, 2023

Announcement of Changes to Venues for EPSC2024 and EPSC-DPS 2025 Joint Meeting

Dear Colleagues,

We learned in January that the refurbishment of the venue for the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) in 2024, Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, has been subject to delays and that the facility will not be available in time for our scheduled meeting in September 2024.

Over the past few weeks, we have reviewed various options, including alternative venues in Helsinki and elsewhere, that have been able to put together a quotation at very short notice. As well as the cost implications, we have also taken into consideration the commitment we made to the Helsinki LOC, whose agreement to host the meeting has already been postponed from 2021 due to the Covid pandemic and contractual obligations with the congress centre in Granada.

We have reached the decision that the best option in terms of value and facilities for the community will be as follows:

EPSC2024 will take place at FU Berlin from 8-14 September 2024
The Joint EPSC-DPS 2025 Meeting will take place in the newly refurbished Finlandia Hall, Helsinki from 7-13 September 2025

Before then, we look forward to seeing you at the DPS-EPSC2023 Joint Meeting in San Antonio, Texas (which will also take place as a hybrid meeting) from

The call for EPSC2026 and EPSC2027 venues will be issued later this year.

Yours sincerely,

Nigel Mason

President, Europlanet Society

Lena Noack Awarded ERC Consolidator Grant

February 1, 2023

Planetary Scientist Professor Lena Noack to Receive Funding from the European Research Council with an ERC Consolidator Grant

Geoscientist at Freie Universität Berlin to receive almost two million euros to research rocky exoplanets

Professor Lena Noack from the Institute of Geological Sciences at Freie Universität Berlin has been selected for an ERC Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council.

The Europlanet Society would like to congratulate Lena, who is also the Chair of the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC), for the well-deserved award and looks forward to the fascinating science that will be supported through the Grant.

Lena will receive over 1.99 million euros over the course of five years to carry out her research project “DIVerse Exoplanet Redox State Estimations – DIVERSE.” In her research she will address the diversity of rocky planets (the planetary siblings of Earth, Mars, and Venus) in other solar systems. The European Research Council awards ERC Consolidator Grants to promising scientists and scholars who completed their doctorates between seven and twelve years ago and now find themselves in the “consolidation phase” of their academic careers.

The James Webb Space Telescope and upcoming Ariel space telescope have opened up new exciting prospects in observational astronomy, making it possible to study exoplanetary atmospheres in greater depth. Planetary scientist Lena Noack is now planning on making use of the opportunities unlocked by these new technologies: “Many studies on exoplanets tend to focus on biosignatures. For example, the presence of specific atmospheric gases can only be explained by the existence of life on Earth. However, in order to prevent misinterpretations, we first have to gain a better understanding of the potential spectrum of abiotic atmospheres – which also includes evaluating the possibility that life could exist there some day. Not all planets resemble Earth. There could be completely different types of rocky planets out there,” Noack explains.

The “DIVERSE” project will focus on particularly unusual exoplanets (here referred to as “Class X planets”), which have a strongly reduced interior chemistry. The result would be an atmosphere that was formed by volcanic outgassing, but one which would look quite different to that of Earth or its neighboring planets. At least for some time, the atmosphere could be dominated by volatile hydrogen. In fact, these planets would then more closely resemble ice giants, like Neptune in our solar system, where atmospheres are formed from the accretion disc during the creation of planets and are thus dominated by hydrogen and helium. However, it is still very difficult to observe helium in exoplanet atmospheres, despite some progress made in recent years. The Class X planets postulated by Noack would find themselves in the group of planets that resemble Neptune.

“If we were able to discover an exoplanet whose atmosphere primarily consisted of hydrogen without a significant presence of helium, then we would be able to call this a Class X planet,” she adds. Being able to detect a planet of this type would have major ripple effects on the wider research community. The strongly reduced chemistry in the interior would indicate that – in contrast to the rocky planets in the solar system – metal and rock would not have separated into the core and the rocky mantle above it, but would instead have remained mixed for a long time. With the aid of theoretical models, Noack and her group will lay the essential groundwork for later identifying promising candidates for Class X planets for observation. “If we manage to detect several Class X planets, then this would provide us with a statistical understanding of which planetary masses and compositions could produce a planet similar to Earth, and which could result in quite different worlds that do not exist in the Solar System.”

Lena Noack has been a professor at Freie Universität Berlin since 2017. Her research focus is on the geodynamic modeling of planetary processes. Having studied mathematics at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and completing her doctorate at the Institute of Planetary Research based at the German Aerospace Center, she moved to the Royal Observatory of Belgium in 2012, before returning to Berlin several years later and joining Freie Universität. She is primarily interested in exploring the link between planetary surfaces and their interiors as well as characterizing potential Earth-like exoplanets around our neighboring stars.

Picture available for download

Further Information

List of all ERC grants awarded at Freie Universität Berlin: https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/forschung/kommunikation/preise/erc/index.html
Latest news from the ERC : https://erc.europa.eu/news

The Winners are… #InspiredByOtherWorlds Contest 2022

January 4, 2023

The Winners are… #InspiredByOtherWorlds Contest 2022

Many thanks to everyone that participated in the #InspiredByOtherWorlds Contest 2022. Congratulations to the winning entries!

Youth Category:

Lara Estelle Montabone – Space Crossroad

Title: Space Crossroad. Artist: Lara Estelle Montabone. The story behind my artwork is the following. One day in the future, an astronaut leaves planet Earth to go to Jupiter and discovers that space is not at all empty. On the contrary, it is full of surprises, with the possibility of meeting other astronauts coming back to Earth, but also other travelling celestial bodies like comets. It is a busy three-dimensional crossroad where collisions are always possible! I took my inspiration from a book for children about space and from a pop-up card that I gave to my dad for his birthday. My dad helped me to translate my story in English. — Space Crossroad

About the Artist: Lara Estelle Montabone is an 8-year-old girl, living in France, who loves drawing. Her favourite themes are animals, space, and natural landscapes.

About the Artwork: The story behind Space Crossroad is the following: one day in the future, an astronaut leaves planet Earth to go to Jupiter and discovers that space is not at all empty. On the contrary, it is full of surprises, with the possibility of meeting other astronauts coming back to Earth, but also other travelling celestial bodies like comets. It is a busy three-dimensional crossroad where collisions are always possible!

Lara Estelle says: “I took my inspiration from a book for children about space and from a pop-up card that I gave to my dad for his birthday. My dad helped me to translate my story in English.“

Schools Category:

Dimitra Armentzou and the 5th Grade Students of the 9th Primary School of Greece – Moondial 2022

About the Artist: Dimitra Armentzou is a teacher in the 9th Primary School of Greece. This year, she is teaching in the 5th grade.

About the Artwork: This stop-motion video is made with models and compositions by the 5th grade students in the 9th Primary School of Greece.

Dimitra says: “While working on Skill Labs my students and I were inspired by the the Moon and the Artemis Mission. We’re very excited to be coming out of the boundaries of our planet and trying to get to know our satellite as interactive as we can. The Moon, which has inspired so many and in so many different ways, waiting for us to explore. Moondial then… Let’s go!“

Adult Category:

Elizabeth Tasker – Together, we are strong

About the Artist: Elizabeth Tasker is an astrophysics researcher and science writer at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Despite being a writer, she loves the ability of art to tell a story without words! As the pandemic closed in during 2020 and we were asked to stay inside, she started to learn ‘Blender’, a freely available 3D computer graphics software package. This entry is the product of that exploration! She really enjoys the ability to bring ideas to life, and the chance to reach new people with a design or animation.

About the Artwork: This computer graphics animation starts with a spacecraft like DART striking an asteroid. As rocks fly out from the collision site, they form the word ‘Together’. Physically unlikely (!) but a reflection on the international connections and involvement needed to go to space, and the worldwide importance of the science and engineering challenges being tackled.

Elizabeth says: “The aspect of space exploration I find most inspiring is the importance of international collaboration. Our missions such as NASA’s DART, ESA’s Comet Interceptor, and JAXA’s Hayabusa2, are led by different countries but all have strong participation from scientists around the world, and dedicated outreach programs to share this experience with everyone. The problems we tackle, from the origins of the Earth, to protecting the same planet from celestial impacts, affect us all and together, we are strong enough to take on even these momentous challenges. In a world that feels steadily more divided, space missions are the hope that we can all come together.“

Welcome to New Chairs of Regional Hubs

November 15, 2022

Welcome to New Chairs of Regional Hubs

Some of the Europlanet Society Regional Hubs have new Chairs, who were announced at EPSC2022! We look forward to working with them and thank all the outgoing Hub Chairs for their work over the past few years.

Incoming Chair of Southeast Europe Regional Hub

Nick Sergis. Credit: Hellenic Space Center

Dr Nick Sergis is the incoming Chair of the Southeast Regional Hub, taking over from Prof Ioannis Daglis, who has served in the role since 2019. Nick is Chief Executive Officer of the Hellenic Space Center, which coordinates public entities and co-manages national programs in all space sectors in Greece. His research interests include space and planetary physics, magnetospheric data analysis with emphasis on the outer planets and their moons, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, and solar wind dynamics. He was a member of the Cassini Magnetosphere Imaging Instrument (MIMI) Scientific Team. Between 2006 and 2020 he worked at the Office of Space Research and Technology at the Academy of Athens in collaboration with JHU/APL. Since 2017, he has been an Adjunct Researcher at the National Observatory of Athens.

Incoming Chair of Spain-Portugal Regional Hub

DR. ALEJANDRO CARDESÍN MOINELO is chair of the Spain Portugal Regional Hub. — Alejandro Cardesín Moinelo is the new chair of the Spain Portugal Regional Hub. Credit: ESA.

Alejandro Cardesín Moinelo is a planetary scientist and science operations engineer working for the European Space Agency, specialising in Solar System missions. He is currently focused on Mars exploration as the manager of the Mars Express mission science ground segment, in coordination with ExoMars and other international projects. Since 2017, he has been the coordinator of the Spanish Planetary Science and Solar System Exploration Community, supporting and promoting the collaboration between research and technology institutions and industries in Spain. Alejandro is now taking on the role of Chair of the Spain & Portugal Regional Hub from the inaugural Chair, Miguel López-Valverde.

Incoming Chair of Italy Regional Hub

Stavro Ivanovski, Chair of the Italian Regional Hub and Co-Chair of EPSC SOC — Stavro Ivanovski. Credit: Europlanet/V Southgate

Stavro Ivanovski is a researcher at INAF-Trieste and an adjoint professor at the University of Trieste. His research focuses on small bodies and planetary magnetospheres in the Solar System. Stavro is involved in a number of planetary missions, including LICIACube, Rosetta and BepiColombo, Comet Interceptor, Hera, and Ariel. As a graduated actor with theatre experience, he has a strong commitment to public engagement and outreach. Since 2020, Stavro has acted as the Co-Chair of the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) Scientific Organising Committee (SOC). He now takes on the role of Chair of the Italian Regional Hub from Maria Cristina De Sanctis.

The new Hub Chairs were announced during EPSC. You can find out more about the work of the Regional Hubs here.

Ann Carine Vandaele is the Europlanet Society’s new President Elect

October 7, 2022

Ann Carine Vandaele is the Europlanet Society’s new President Elect

Ann Carine Vandaele, Head of Planetary Atmospheres Research Unit at the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels, was announced as the President-Elect of the Europlanet Society during the General Assembly on 22 September. Ann Carine will take over as the second President of the Europlanet Society in September 2023 when Nigel Mason‘s term of office comes to an end.

In her election Manifesto, Ann Carine explained her vision for the Europlanet Society:

After a PhD at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, I joined the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy where, today, I am head of the Planetary Atmospheres Division. My main scientific expertise lies in the development of remote sensing instruments, spectroscopy used by such instruments, and radiative transfer modelling through atmospheres. I am involved in several space missions (Mars and Venus Express, ExoMars TGO, JUICE, ARIEL, EnVision) and associations (the International Commission of Planetary Atmospheres and Evolution, a commission of IAMAS/IUGG; the IUGG Belgian National Committee of Geodesy and Geophysics; the Belgian National Committee on Space Research, YouSpace! ). I am the president of the Société Royale Belge d’Astronomie, de Météorologie et de Physique du Globe, whose members are academics, researchers but also amateur astronomers. I am currently the chair of the Benelux regional Hub of the Europlanet Society.

My main driver is to promote collaboration and exchange between researchers in Planetary Sciences. For me, it is important to encourage relations between education, research and industry to increase the visibility and the impact of planetary science. The Europlanet Society has the potential to be that link. I believe that the Society needs to be present at all the stages of a researcher’s life, from the very beginning, i.e. at schools and university. It is fundamental to engage a wide variety of audiences and sectors of the society not usually interested in or even excluded from science, offering to the wider general public the possibility to take part in planetary sciences. The Society should also be an active interlocutor by engaging with decision makers, like the European Space Agency or the European Commission.

Find out more about the role of the President and the Executive Board of the Europlanet Society.

First Probable Impact Crater Discovered in Spain

September 29, 2022

First Probable Impact Crater Discovered in Spain

Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 Press Release

The first probable impact crater in Spain has been identified in the southern province of Almeria. The discovery was presented last week at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 by Juan Antonio Sánchez Garrido of the University of Almeria.

While around 200 impact structures have been identified around the world, the study is the first to identify signs of an impact crater on the Iberian Peninsula. The discovery is the result of 15 years of research by an international team of scientists from the University of Almeria, the Astrobiology Center of Madrid, the University of Lund and the University of Copenhagen.

Prof Sánchez Garrido said: “We believe that the impact event occurred around 8 million years ago. We have investigated numerous aspects of the geology, minerology, geochemistry and geomorphology of the region. The basins of Alhabia and Tabernas in the area are filled with sediments dating back between 5 and 23 million years, and they overlie older metamorphic rocks. Much of the impact structure is buried by more modern sediments, but erosion has exposed it and opened up the opportunity for studies.”

The crater itself is thought to be about 4 kilometres in diameter, and it is surrounded by a larger structure about 20 kilometres across where the impact caused the sedimentary strata to collapse.

Evidence for the impact crater includes several examples of ‘shocked’ quartz grains in breccia – a sedimentary rock type with large fragments cemented into a finer-grained matrix. The grains show signs of being deformed in the enormous pressures of the impact, which were between 10 and 30 gigapascals.

“If the crater discovery is confirmed, it would not only be exciting from a scientific perspective, but would also be a wonderful addition to the scientific and touristic attractions of the province of Almeria,” said Prof Sánchez Garrido.

EPSC2022, which took place last week in Granada, was attended by almost 1200 planetary scientists from around the world, making it one of the largest planetary science meetings to take place in Europe.

The Chair of the Local Organising Committee, Luisa Lara of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucía-CSIC, said: “It was a lot of work to prepare for the meeting and we had to wait two years because of the pandemic. But the emotion of welcoming everyone to EPSC2022 in Granada has been worth everything – all the work is forgotten and the success of the meeting is a wonderful reward.”

Images

Location of the crater centre and 20 kilometre radius of the area affected by the impact in the Alhabia-Tabernas basin. Credit: Sánchez-Garrido et al 2022. Basemap: Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN). License: CC-BY 4.0.

Much of the impact structure is buried by the most recent sediments. The crater itself is 4 kilometres in diameter and is buried at a depth of 1000 m. The edge of the structure reaches a diameter of 20 kilometres. Credit: Sánchez-Garrido et al 2022.

Evidence for the impact crater includes several examples of ‘shocked’ quartz grains in breccia – a sedimentary rock type with large fragments cemented into a finer-grained matrix. The grains show signs of being deformed in the enormous pressures of the impact, which were between 10 and 30 Giga Pascals. Credit: Sánchez-Garrido et al 2022.

Thin sections showing deformations in three quartz grains, produced by shock effects, in an impact breccia at Tabernas. Credit: Sánchez-Garrido et al 2022.

MEDIA CONTACTS

EPSC2022 Press Office
+44 7756 034243
epsc-press@europlanet-society.org

FURTHER INFORMATION

About the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC)

The Europlanet Science Congress (https://www.epsc2022.eu/) formerly the European Planetary Science Congress, is the annual meeting of the Europlanet Society. With a track record of 16 years, and regularly attracting around 1000 participants, EPSC 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, as well as providing a unique space for networking and exchanges of experiences. In 2022, EPSC is held jointly with the European Astrobiology Network Association (EANA) annual meeting.

Follow on Twitter via @europlanetmedia and using the hashtag #EPSC2022.

Details of media briefings and recordings can be found at: https://www.europlanet-society.org/press-briefings-at-epsc2022/

All Europlanet media releases can be found at: https://www.europlanet-society.org/press/

About Europlanet

Since 2005, Europlanet (www.europlanet-society.org) has provided Europe’s planetary science community with a platform to exchange ideas and personnel, share research tools, data and facilities, define key science goals for the future, and engage stakeholders, policy makers and European citizens with planetary science.

The Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871149 to provide access to state-of-the-art research facilities and a mechanism to coordinate Europe’s planetary science community.

The Europlanet Society promotes the advancement of European planetary science and related fields for the benefit of the community and is open to individual and organisational members. The Europlanet Society is the parent organisation of the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC).

About EANA
The European Astrobiology Network Association (http://www.eana-net.eu), joins together people interested in the origins of life and the search for extraterrestrial life in the Solar System and beyond. This interdisciplinary domain involves scientists from multiple disciplines such as chemistry, physics, biology, geology, astronomy, and human sciences.

JWST Sees Red with First Pictures of Mars

September 23, 2022

JWST Sees Red with First Pictures of Mars

By Sanje Fenkart

Up to now the newest space telescope, JWST, has impressed the astronomical world by taking images of the far-away Universe with unprecedented resolution and detail. Recently, NASA has shifted its focus to our next-door neighbour Mars.

Earth’s little brother is a rather photogenic fellow. It is observed by amateurs, public observatories, professional ground-based and space telescopes. Since 1964, there has been a constant trickle of probes, satellites, landers and rovers which explore the rust-covered world. While the robots send us close-ups from a familiar yet strange world, it’s worthwhile taking a look at the Red Planet with a telescope – even one in your back yard.

For JWST the Mars observation proved to be a little blinding. The telescope is designed to look primarily at faint objects such as exoplanets as well as the first (and hence oldest) stars and galaxies in space. In order for them to be captured, the JWST is equipped with very sensitive instruments and collects as much light as possible.

Mars, however, is close by and very bright – nearly too bright for JWST. Fortunately, a team from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center edited the collected data into valuable pictures. The NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) managed to take a snapshot of Mars’ surface at two different wavelengths/filters. The first is a zoomed-in picture that shows different surface features like craters, volcanic rocks and dust properties.

The second is a heat map of our neighbour. It marks colder and hotter regions, depending how much heat is given off. As expected, the polar regions are cold, just as the shadowed night side with the distinct terminator (border between day and night). Towards the equator the Sun shines full on (at 2 pm Martian time), heating the planet to an overly bright spot. Curiously, the hottest part exhibits a darker patch. It is an impact structure called “Hellas Basin” with a depth of over 7,000 m (>23,000 ft). There, the pressure changes considerably from top to bottom and consequently affects the atmosphere. And that’s what JWST sees.

First pictures of Mars, taken by the NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. Left panel: close-up of the Martian surface with different features and structures. Right panel: heat map, showing Mars’ thermal emission. The bright yellow patch is the day side, with a darker spot inside. This is an atmospheric pressure change in Hellas Basin. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, MARS JWST/GTO Team.

Switching instruments, the NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) documented Mars’ atmospheric composition. It found quite the abundance of carbon dioxide (CO₂), alongside water (H₂O) and carbon monoxide (CO). Yet what scientists are really looking for is methane (CH₄). On Earth, methane is one of the most prominent tracers for living organisms, a so-called biomarker. Organisms like us, microbes and plants produce methane. The planet itself can outgas methane if it has geological activity. Otherwise, methane can be brought to a planet by comets too. So far, methane has been found only in the slightest of traces on Mars, with its origin still under discussion. The current findings were obtained during guaranteed time observations (GTO) and they look promising.

JWST will look at Mars many times in the future, whenever an observation window opens. And while there no new results from the JWST spectra on the methane abundance, the spectrographs capability should be able to find even slightest whiffs of it.

Spectrum of Mars’ atmosphere and its components, respectively taken by NIRSpec. It features a high abundance of carbon dioxide, some water and carbon monoxide. Future observations will try to look for methane which can be a powerful tracer for living organisms. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, MARS JWST/GTO Team.

Sanje Fenkart took part in the media internship programme at EPSC2022. The programme is supported through the Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) Project, which has received funding European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 871149.

Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement 2022 awarded to the ‘Planets In Your Hand’ Tactile Exhibition

Europlanet Press Release

The 2022 Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement has been awarded to Dr Kosmas Gazeas and the team behind the ‘Planets In Your Hand’ tactile exhibition.

‘Planets In Your Hand’ is an interactive, mobile set of models of planetary surfaces, constructed in square frames, that gives a multisensory impression of the wide variety of surface characteristics and environmental properties of the planets in our Solar System.

The exhibition, although suitable for people of all ages, has been specifically designed for visually impaired audiences, and has travelled to schools, universities and private institutes and organisations, reaching thousands of visitors to date.

Dr Federica Duras, Chair of the Europlanet Outreach Jury, said: “Imagination and creativity has led to a stunning, original exhibition led by a passionate and committed team. Giving opportunities to ‘touch space’ with your own hands is one of the most effective ways of making science and astronomy accessible and inclusive. Congratulations to the whole team.”

The award was presented during the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 in Granada on behalf of the team to Dimitrios Athanasopoulos, who gave a 20-minute prize lecture. The team will also receive a cash award of 1500 Euros.

Eugenia Covernton, CEO of Lecturers Without Borders, who nominated the team for the Europlanet Prize, said: “Planets In Your Hand is an outstanding hands-on exhibition that is inclusive for people with visual impairments and is overall a great tool for the public to grasp concepts related to the different compositions of the planets”

Sophia Drakaki and Dimitris Blougouras, Founders of CityLab, a STEM center specialized in activities for children and young people, said: “The team wanted a real hands-on experience that lasts. And yes, they did it! The on-the-spot visitors can see, touch and feel the surface texture and temperature of the planets and ‘travel’ on them, with the assistance of experts in astrophysics and education that can answer the megabytes of questions that the kids generate!”

Evangelia Mavrikaki, professor of the Department of Primary Education at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), said: “The exhibition is portable, providing huge flexibility accessing schools and institutes in remote areas of Greece and all over the world. Science communication activities of such a kind are rare in remote places and away from large towns.”

Dr Gazeas, the team lead, who is a lecturer of observational astrophysics in the Department of Physics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), said: “We are deeply honoured to receive the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement for our efforts in science communication and public outreach activities in the frame of the project Planets In Your Hand. The selection of our project by the judges acts like a confirmation to the team for the hard work that has been done since 2017 and especially during the past 3 years.”

Images

Federica Duras, Chair of the Europlanet Outreach Working Group, presenting the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement to Dimitrios Athanasopoulos on behalf of the ‘Planets In Your Hand’ team. Credit: Europlanet

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Dimitrios Athanasopoulos accepted the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement on behalf of the ‘Planets In Your Hand’ team. Credit: Europlanet

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Dimitrios Athanasopoulos giving the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement Lecture on behalf of the ‘Planets In Your Hand’ team. Credit: Europlanet

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Dimitrios Athanasopoulos giving the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement Lecture on behalf of the ‘Planets In Your Hand’ team. Credit: Europlanet

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