The following sessions are of particular interest to the astrobiology community - the deadline for abstract submission is February 10, 2012.

B0.2 Mars Exploration
Organizer: R. Stephen Saunders
Lunar and Planetary Institute
rssaunders@earthlink.net

F3.3 Advanced Instrumentation for Astrobiology: ISS, Mars and Beyond
Organizer: Mary Voytek
NASA Headquarters
mary.voytek-1@nasa.gov

B0.6 Astrobiology: Life Signs Detections within Planetary Exploration
Organizer: John Robert Brucato
INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Italy
jbrucato@arcetri.astro.it

F3.6 Astrobiology and Astromaterials as Related to Small Bodies
Organizer: Kensei Kobayashi
Yokohama National University
kkensei@ynu.ac.jp

F3.4 Life in Extreme Environments - Model Systems for Astrobiology
Organizer: Petra Rettberg
DLR, Germany
petra.rettberg@dlr.de

F3.2 Prebiotic Chemistry and the Origin of Life
Organizer: Andrew Pohorille
NASA Ames Research Center
andrew.pohorille@nasa.gov

F3.1 Habitability in the Solar System
Organizer: Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
navarro@nucleares.unam.mx

For more information see: http://www.cospar-assembly.org

For more information visit: https://www.cps-jp.org/~pschool/pub/2012-06-24/index.html

*Abstract deadline: February 29, 2012
Early Registration deadline: February 29, 2012*

The past few years have witnessed significant developments in extrasolar planetary science. Several Earth-like planets and super-Earths have been detected in the habitable zones of their host stars and more than 1200 planetary candidates have been announced. On the theoretical front, these discoveries have triggered extensive research on the formation, dynamical evolution, interior dynamics, and atmospheric characteristics of extrasolar habitable planets. The IAU symposium 293 will bring together scientists from around the world to present new discoveries, and discuss ideas on the formation, detection, and characterization of extrasolar habitable planets.

For complete meeting information visit: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/iau293/index.html

Limited number of travel support is available for US and international participants. More information and application can be found at http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/iau293/travel.html

For more information and questions regarding the conference contact Nader Haghighipour nader@ifa.hawaii.edu.

Maui, June 3-6, 2012

This workshop will provide an introductory but authoritative review of M dwarf stars and the detection, formation, and potential habitability of their planets. It is principally intended for advanced graduate students and junior postdocs, but investigators at all levels are welcome to apply. The workshop will consist of invited lectures, contributed research presentations, and a field trip to the summit and observatory of Haleakala to observe the transit of Venus across the Sun.

Venue: Institute for Astronomy Maui Maikalani/ATRC, Pukalani, Maui

Convenor: Eric Gaidos

Science Organizing Committee: John Rayner (chair), Eric Hilton, Adam Kraus, Jonathan Williams, Nader Haghighipour, Joost van Summeren

The workshop is limited to 45 participants and selection will be based on relevance of applicant's research to the workshop themes, with preference given to advanced graduate students and junior postdocs. There is no workshop fee, but participants are responsible for their travel and accommodations. Economy (dormitory-style) housing may be available for students upon request. Logistical information will be made available on this website.

To apply, send a CV (2 page max) and conference abstract (1 page max) to: mauitransit@gmail.com before March 1, 2012

For more information: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/FACULTY/GAIDOS/haleakala.html

Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets will explore the differences and similarities between the climates of terrestrial planets in the solar system and beyond. With an emphasis on experimental methods and models, the synergies between Earth science, planetary science, heliophysics, and exoplanet studies will be exploited to identify objectives for future research and missions.

The goal of this conference is to look at climate in the broadest sense possible -- by comparing the processes at work on the four terrestrial bodies, Earth, Venus, Mars, and Titan (Titan is included because it hosts many terrestrial processes), and on terrestrial planets around other stars. These processes include the interactions of shortwave and thermal radiation with the atmosphere, condensation and vaporization of volatiles, atmospheric dynamics and chemistry, and the role of the surface and interior in the long-term evolution of climate. Conference talks will compare the scientific questions, methods, numerical models, and spacecraft remote sensing experiments for Earth and the other planets, with the goal of identifying objectives for future research and missions. The conference is an opportunity for planetary scientists to survey current work on the best-studied terrestrial planet, and for climate scientists to reflect on how familiar processes on Earth produce such different outcomes in other "laboratories."

For more information: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/climatology2012/

The database suggests over 15 exoplanets and 30 exomoons as potential habitable candidates.

Scientists are now starting to identify potential habitable exoplanets after nearly twenty years of the detection of the first planets around other stars. Over 700 exoplanets have been detected and confirmed with thousands more still waiting further confirmation by missions such as NASA Kepler. Most of these are gas giants, similar to Jupiter and Neptune, but orbiting very dangerously close to their stars. Only a few have the right size and orbit to be considered suitable for any life.

Now the Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHL) of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo (UPR Arecibo) presents a new assessment of the habitability of these worlds as part of its Habitable Exoplanets Catalog (HEC). The catalog not only identifies new potential habitable exoplanets, including exomoons like the Pandora world in the movie Avatar, but also ranks them according to various habitability indices.

For more information: http://phl.upr.edu/projects/habitable-exoplanets-catalog

Beyond the Edge of the Sea is a breath-taking exhibit consisting of hand-drawn scientific illustrations from hydrothermal vents experienced first hand by scientist Cindy Van Dover and artist Karen Jacobsen. Making its debut in Madison, WI recently, the exhibit was joined by these two collaborators and local residents reaped the benefits. After the opening reception, Van Dover and Jacobsen joined 350 middle school girls at the Expanding Your Horizons conference, an experience designed to give young women the chance to meet professional women in science. The girls used microscopes to explore and sketch microorganisms found in local lake water. Jacobsen went on to meet with art classes at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and the Madison Area Technical College where she spoke about and demonstrated science illustration techniques.

The workshop will comprise invited lectures, contributed talks, an unlimited number of posters, and discussion sessions. Applications to participate are invited before March 1, 2012 in the form of a submitted abstract. The workshop is limited to 80 participants. Priority will be given to participants and abstracts of most relevance to the workshop, taking into account the importance of diversity among disciplines.

For more information: http://www.microenergy2012.org

Dr. Delano is a Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University at Albany (State University of New York), and is the Associate Director of the NAI's New York Center for Astrobiology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is the author of 60 scientific publications, and has served on many advisory panels for NASA.

To view the talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQY7vQy50M

http://www.eko.uj.edu.pl/symbiosis/
Hosted by one of the oldest and prominent universities in Europe, Jagiellonian University, the meeting will welcome hundreds of researchers, educators, and students from around the world, all of whom are immersed in some aspect of symbiosis. Held every three years and organized by the International Symbiosis Society, the Congress is one of the most unique gatherings of life science research specialists in the world.

As symbiotic systems encompass and even dominate many phyla and most domains and kingdoms, it is a venue wherein an expert in coral-dinoflagellates will exchange ideas, results, methods, and perspectives with a mycorrhizae or lichen specialist. Those in the vast field of insect symbioses interact with those in the legume-nitrogen fixing realm. In this sense, the term "symbiosis," applies very well to the Congress experience, as extended exchanges, long-term relationships, and new lineages of thought emerge from this diverse human community.

A team of researchers including members of NAI's MIT team have married fossil records with molecular clock studies to reveal a new interpretation of the Cambrian explosion. Collectively these data allow an understanding of the environmental potential, genetic and developmental possibility, and ecological opportunity that existed before and during the Cambrian. The study compares the times of origin of major animal groups (from the molecular clock) with the times of their first appearance in the fossil record. The team shows that the major animal groups first diverged during the Cryogenian, roughly 300 million years prior to their appearance in the fossil record, and acquired the key components of their developmental toolkits early in their history. After a long lag, the groups' major ecological successes are reflected in the records of the Ediacaran and Cambrian. Their paper appears in the current issue of Science.

The scientists show that the atmosphere of Earth just 500 million years after its creation was not a methane-filled wasteland as previously proposed, but instead was much closer to the conditions of our current atmosphere. The findings, in a paper titled "The oxidation state of Hadean magmas and implications for early Earth's atmosphere," have implications for our understanding of how and when life began on this planet and could begin elsewhere in the universe.

For more information: http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/articles/earth-s-early-atmosphere-an-update/