43rd ESLAB Symposium

International Conference on

Comparative Planetology:

Venus - Earth - Mars

11-15 May 2009

ESTEC, Noordwijk (NL)

Download of conference presentations:

Session 1: Interior and subsurface

Session 2: Geology, surface chemistry and mineralogy

Session 3: Conditions for life

Session 4: Atmospheric chemistry and clouds

Session 5: Climate and atmospheric dynamics

Session 6: Aeronomy and solar wind interaction

Session 7: Evolution

Session 8: Future missions

Purpose:

The aim of this conference is to identify and discuss the similarities and differences between the terrestrial planets Venus, Earth and Mars. In recent years, through space missions our knowledge of Mars and Venus has increased significantly. At the same time a fleet of spacecraft observing the Earth has led to an improved understanding of our home planet in a large number of fields. Until now this knowledge has only been applied to each individual planet while the question what we can learn about the similarities and differences between Venus, Earth and Mars has generally not been addressed. Now special attention will be given to comparisons between the different planets to fully exploit the benefits of our newly gained knowledge.

Venus, Earth and Mars are all unique in their own ways but as terrestrial planets they also share several common features. It is therefore intriguing to analyze the different evolutionary paths these planets took despite their partly comparable initial conditions. Earth and Venus, for example, have nearly the same size and density but their atmospheres are completely different and their tectonic behaviour differs significantly. How can these differences be explained given their basic similarities? Why does Earth still have a magnetic field while Venus and Mars have not? Why does the Earth have oceans while Mars and Venus have not? These are just a few examples of questions that will be addressed during the conference.

The conference will embrace all topics relevant to the past, present and future state of Venus, Earth and Mars thereby encouraging a truly interdisciplinary discussion between researchers with a large variety of expertise. The results may have implications for both an improved understanding of the evolution of each of these three planets but also for a more general understanding of the evolution of planetary systems. This will be of great general interest but will also help answering the questions which undoubtedly will arise with the detection of an Earth-like planet outside our Solar System.

Scope:

vdwkuhSessions on the following topics are planned:

• Interior and subsurface
  
• Geology
• Surface chemistry and mineralogy
  
• Atmospheric chemistry and clouds
  
• Atmospheric dynamics and climate
  
• Aeronomy and solar wind interaction
• Planetary evolution
• Conditions for life
  
• Future missions



(click image to download poster)

 

Registration:

The registration page will be available here. The registration fee will be 150 Euro for registration before April 10^th, and 200 Euro for late and on-site registration.

 

Abstracts:

Abstracts should be submitted as pdf.files using the following template until 02 March. A website for uploading the files is available here.

Abstract template for Microsoft Word.

The abstract length is restricted to one page. However, invited speakers may submit a two-page abstract for their tutorial presentation.

Presentations:

Programme:

Scientific Organizing Committee:

• Alexander Basilevsky, Vernadsky Institute, Moscow, Russia
  
• Lennart Bengtsson, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
  
• Bruno Bezard, Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, Paris, France
  
• Agustin Chicarro, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
  
• Marcello Coradini, European Space Agency, Paris, France
  
• David Crisp, JPL, Pasadena, USA
  
• Everett Gibson, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, USA
  
• Monica Grady, Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
  
• David Grinspoon, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, USA
  
• Emmanuelle Javaux, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
  
• Helmut Lammer, Space Research Institute, Graz, Austria
  
• Andrew Nagy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
  
• Patrick Pinet, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Toulouse, France
  
• Pascal Rosenblatt, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
  
• Angelo Pio Rossi, International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland
  
• Takehiko Satoh, JAXA, Tokyo, Japan
  
• Sandra Schumacher, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
  
• Frank Sohl, German Aerospace Center, Berlin, Germany
  
• Håkan Svedhem, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
  
• Dimitri Titov, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Kathlenburg-Lindau, Germany
  
• Olivier Witasse, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
  

Proceedings:

During and after the conference the presentations will be posted on the web. In case of sensitive material it will be possible to provide an edited version of the presentation for web publication.

Schedule:

Deadline for abstract submission and application to travel grants	-	02 March 2009
Final Announcement on website with program for oral & pster sessions	-	Late March 2009
Abstracts posted on the web	-	Late March 2009
Deadline for early registration with reduced fee	-	10 April 2009
Conference	-	11-15 May 2009
Presentations posted on the web	-	During and after conference
Deadline for journal submission	-	Autumn 2009

 

Travel Grants:

Partial travel support will be available for a limited number of worldwide students. Individuals that apply for this support will then be informed of the result by 23^rd March Accepted grant applications will be paid out at the conference.

Travel grant requests will only be considered when an accompanying abstract has been accepted for either a contributed oral or a poster presentation.

Accommodation and logistics:

Noordwijk has many possibilities of accommodation, including hotels and pensions.

A list of hotels and contacts, including booking information and special conference rates are available here .

Further information on local accommodation is available at: Noordwijk tourist information page. For those looking for an accommodation in Leiden, hotels are listed on Leiden tourist information page.

A shuttle bus service will be available daily from a central location in Noordwijk to ESTEC. Information on the shuttle bus will be available on this page.  A bus service to Amsterdam airport will be available directly after the end of the conference.

Presentations available on-line:

All presentations (pdf files) will be posted on the conference website after each session to foster collaboration among participants and keep a comprehensive record of the conference for future reference. Therefore, all presenters are expected to provide their presentations (PowerPoint only) to the organizers. In case of sensitive material the presentation can be edited.

Local Organizing Committee:

For further information regarding the format and scientific objectives of the meeting, please contact:

Agustin F. Chicarro European Space Agency ESTEC, The Netherlands Tel. +31-71-5653613 e-mail Håkan Svedhem European Space Agency ESTEC, The Netherlands Tel. +31-71-5653370 e-mail Olivier Witasse European Space Agency ESTEC, The Netherlands Tel. +31-71-5658015 e-mail Sandra Schumacher European Space Agency ESTEC, The Netherlands Tel. +31-71-5658113 e-mail