Small bodies’ exploration is one of the thrilling activities driving future space endeavors. All major space agencies in the last years have supported the study and implementation of space missions aiming to characterize asteroids with a multitude of instruments and to find possible technical solutions to exploit their resources.

The goal of this session is to bring together scientists, mission and instrumentation developers, and observational communities that are underpinning the future of this field. Contributions are invited to review ongoing programs of small bodies characterization, to update on the progress of planned instrumentation programs, and to present innovative ideas for future utilization of resources and mission concepts.

This session welcomes a broad range of presentations about future missions and instrumentation for the exploration of terrestrial and gas giant planets as well as missions and instruments to study exoplanets. We encourage presentations on new planetary science mission architectures and associated technologies, as well as dedicated instrumentation that can be developed for these applications.

Solar and planetary astronomy has always been a data-intensive science, and new observatories and spacecraft are gathering data at an unprecedented scale. However, to maximize the scientific return on this investment, researchers need access to an infrastructure that provides open access to data, correlative data, and common standards for communication and information exchange between repositories. Initiatives like NASA's Planetary Data Ecosystem, Europlanet/VESPA, ESA Datalabs, and NASA's Helio-Cloud are taking the first steps toward building such an infrastructure. We invite contributions showcasing open science opportunities and accomplishments in Heliophysics and Planetary science that highlight one or more of these capabilities, particularly those involving international standards such as IVOA, OGC, IPDA, and IHDEA.

As the planetary community embraces Open Science principles, discussing how these practices can be implemented at every stage of the data lifecycle is essential to remove roadblocks to effective use of data. This session will explore critical points in the data lifecycle, starting with developing Open Science Data Management Plans (DMPs) all the way to making your archived data more F.A.I.R., with emphasis on the benefits of Analysis Ready Data (ARD). We invite speakers and participants to join us to discuss best practices, challenges, and emerging technologies that support Open Science across these stages.

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the development of computer software capable of performing tasks that would typically require human intelligence. Machine learning (ML) is a branch of computer science that explores algorithms that can learn from data. ML is primarily divided into supervised and unsupervised learning. In the former, the algorithm is presented with examples of labeled examples, and a training routine is executed to learn a general rule that maps inputs to outputs. In the latter, no label is provided to the learning algorithm, which enables the network to autonomously identify latent and representative structures in the data. Deep learning is a branch of machine learning based on multiple layers of artificial neural networks, which are computing systems inspired by the biological neural networks found in animal brains. This session aims to provide a forum for discussing recent advancements in the applications of AI and ML to planetary science.

Robotic systems have become essential tools in missions that extend beyond human physical reach or require rapid response times. These systems play a pivotal role in planetary exploration, deep-space observation, and ground-based astronomy, ensuring swift and precise responses to transient astronomical events. Robotic platforms have revolutionized our understanding of the universe, enabling the exploration of remote environments and delivering unprecedented precision in observations.

This session focuses on advancements in robotic concepts and their applications in planetary science and astronomy.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Autonomous robotic systems for planetary exploration, including rovers, landers, and aerial platforms.
Orbit selection strategies for space-based observations.
Instrumentation designed for robotic observatories, both in orbit and on the ground.
Networks of robotic telescopes for coordinated astronomical observations.
Integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance autonomy and efficiency.
Challenges and solutions in deploying and operating robotic systems in extreme environments.
Collaborative robotic systems for multi-platform, synchronized observations.
New concepts, case studies, and lessons learned from past, ongoing, or envisioned space missions, emphasizing their scientific contributions and value.

To highlight the innovations driving progress in planetary science and astronomy, the session invites contributions from scientists, engineers, and mission planners. By bringing together experts from diverse disciplines, we aim to foster discussions that inspire and shape the next generation of robotic missions.

Radar observations can provide detailed information on material properties (e.g., composition, porosity, roughness) for planetary surfaces across the solar system. Crucially, ground-based measurements, such as from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and the Goldstone Solar System Radar in California, have provided invaluable astrometric information and size constraints for over 1000 near-Earth objects, which have been used to inform planetary defense. Furthermore, for some NEOs, radar imaging has provided meter-scale details of shape and wavelength-scale roughness and spacecraft radars have provided constraints for small-body interiors (e.g., CONSERT on ROSETTA). Across the solar system, radar measurements have discovered in situ resources, such as buried water ice, and informed landing site selection by facilitating geohazard assessment studies.
For more than 50 years, the Arecibo Observatory planetary radar explored the Solar System from Earth, including determining the rotation rate of Mercury, detecting liquids on Saturn’s moon Titan, and observing tens to hundreds of NEOs yearly, many with sufficient data for detailed analysis of surface morphology and 3-D shape reconstruction. Current radar facilities continue monitoring near-Earth space (e.g., Goldstone), as well as emerging capabilities at Green Bank Observatory and southern hemisphere observing capabilities in Australia. Various radar observing methods have also been used to study Solar System bodies in orbit, including synthetic aperture radar imagers (e.g., the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Mini-RF), and sounders (e.g., Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s SHARAD). Many more such instruments are en route (e.g., RIME on JUICE and REASON on Clipper for Ganymede and Europa, as well as JuRa for 65803 Didymos) and others are in development (e.g., SRS on EnVision, and VISAR on VERITAS for Venus), as well as planned instruments for small body exploration, including the upcoming close-approach of 99942 Apophis (e.g., RAMSES).
In this session, we invite contributions relating to ground- and space-based planetary radars, from the analysis of existing missions and facilities, laboratory and field-analog studies, to instrument development, and new techniques to conduct radar studies.

Electromagnetic scattering phenomena play a key role in determining the properties of Solar System surfaces based on observations using different techniques and in a variety of wavelengths ranging from the ultraviolet to the radio. This session will promote a general advancement in the exploitation of observational and experimental techniques to characterize radiative transfer in complex particulate media. Abstracts are solicited on advances in numerical methods to extract relevant information from imagery, photometry, and spectroscopy in solid phase, reference laboratory databases, photometric modeling, interpreting features on planetary surfaces, mixing/unmixing methods, AI and machine learning, software and web service applications.

The aim of this session is to provide a platform for all aspects of in situ science on planets and small bodies. The conveners welcome contributions on hard/soft landers and atmospheric entry probes on past, present and future missions. Possible topics include science returned by and lessons learned from instruments but equal emphasis is on development studies, models and laboratory tests of the next generation of in-situ instrumentation for planetary exploration.

Most of our knowledge about the origin and the evolution of the Solar System comes from our ability to decipher the processes that formed and processed planetary materials. These materials have diverse physical (grain size, roughness etc.) and chemical properties (composition, mineralogy, volatile/refractory content, organic/inorganic compounds) and are mixed in various ways.

In the laboratory, the analyses of cosmo-materials coming from planetary or asteroidal objects (that felt on Earth or returned by space missions) as well as analyses on analogues reproducing their physical/chemical properties, are both essential for the understanding of the history of planets and small bodies.
The results of these laboratory experiments are essential for the interpretations of measurements obtained by ground-based observations and space missions. They are also necessary for planning and preparing future in situ and sample-return space missions, ensuring their success in collecting valuable samples and data.

In this session, we invite submissions related to the analysis of cosmo-materials and to the production, evolution and analysis of planetary and small bodies analogues (interpretation of chemical/physical properties, predictions, preparation of analytical tools or space instruments, preparation of analytical chain for sample return analyses, etc.). Laboratory experiments necessary to interpret data of any past, present and future space missions will be particularly encouraged.

Space missions to study bodies throughout the Solar System up-close have led to significant advances in understanding how our planetary system formed and evolved. A host of current and upcoming missions will further revolutionise our knowledge of the Solar System’s structure and history e.g. the characterisation of numerous Jupiter Trojans by the Lucy flybys, the Hera mission to assess the Didymos-Dimorphos system following the DART impact, and the first ever up-close study of a long period comet by Comet Interceptor. In addition to these small-body missions, there are missions flying or in development to visit all the major planets from Mercury to Jupiter, and discussions about future missions to the ice giants. Each of these missions are greatly enhanced by the support of ground-based facilities to provide necessary context through remote sensing and target characterisation. This session invites contributions from researchers undertaking telescopic observations related to mission targets, including pre-encounter characterisation, parallel ground and space observations, or follow up studies.

The Gaia mission is publishing a large amount of data concerning the minor bodies of the Solar System, with unique properties and quality. However, peculiarities of Gaia data, consequence of the typical complexity intrinsic to space missions, make an appropriate exploitation complex. This session has the ambition of gathering the community of planetary scientists exploiting Gaia through any of its data products, for sharing and discussing results, difficulties, experiences, and future perspectives. Several publications have made use of the Data Release 3 (2022) including astrometry for more than 150 thousand asteroids at milli-arcsec level accuracy. Minor planet positions by Gaia, used alone or combined with other data sources, have led to progress in detection and modeling of subtle dynamical effects, and to changes in observational approaches, especially in the domain of stellar occultations. The Focused Product Release in 2023 extended this data set in time, up to the duration of the nominal mission (5 years), pushing the limit of investigation further. High-precision unfiltered photometry and a first batch of reflectance spectra for 60 thousand asteroids have also been made available, leading to new results by photometric inversion and taxonomic classification. Altogether, the observations by Gaia are contributing to the evolution of our knowledge of the asteroid belt, are offering renewed approaches to ground based observations, and are a precious data source for planning future in-situ space missions. Looking forward to Data Release 4, it is the appropriate time for an evaluation of the impact of Gaia on Solar System science that can also provide useful feedback for the data processing consortium.

JWST has proven to be an essential component in the current era of planetary exploration. Via a combination of high-resolution infrared imaging (NIRCam), and spatially resolved spectroscopy (MIRI, NIRSpec and NIRISS), JWST has been delivering transformative new insights into the origins and physicochemical phenomena shaping the myriad worlds of the Solar System.

Solar System observations have accounted for 4-6% of all JWST time allocated during the first three cycles, with almost every major body being viewed at least once in JWST’s major instrument modes, as well as >100 small bodies across the Solar System. This has generated a host of new discoveries, from the atmospheres and ionospheres of giant planets; to the distribution of ices on ocean moons; the hydration properties of small bodies; the chemical composition of comets; and the taxonomy of Trans-Neptunian Objects to tell the story of Solar System evolution. These exceptional new insights will set the scene for the next generation of planetary missions beyond Mars, both those en route to their destinations (e.g., Lucy, Psyche, JUICE, Europa Clipper and others), and those preparing for the next steps in our exploration of the Solar System.

This interdisciplinary session welcomes papers spanning the entire planetary science community, reporting new discoveries using JWST in any discipline.

Space safety refers to the sustainable use of space, encompassing space-based applications, commerce, science and exploration and focuses on the impacts of space debris, space weather, and planetary defense. It strives towards protecting space infrastructure and human spaceflight missions from orbital debris and from harmful effects of space weather, as well as safeguarding Earth's societies from debris re-entering the atmosphere. Planetary defense involves detecting, tracking, and understanding potentially hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs), asteroids and comets capable of impacting the Earth.

This session invites presentations on scientific methods, technologies, and missions for surveillance, detection, tracking and characterization of orbital objects around the Earth, for understanding and forecasting space weather and its impact on the space and aviation infrastructure and other technical systems of our society, as well as on asteroids and comets that could threaten the Earth. We also welcome presentations on methodologies, systems and missions for actively mitigating the risks posed by re-entering orbital debris and approaching NEOs to human society.

On October 7, 2024, the ESA Hera mission was launched successfully to reach the binary asteroid Didymos in fall 2026, which will provide detailed measurements of the outcome of the first asteroid deflection experiment successfully achieved by the NASA DART mission. Other missions are under study at ESA, such as NEOMIR and RAMSES. The NASA NEOSurveyor spacecraft is also planed for launch in 2027, to perform the inventory of NEOs larger than 140 m in diameter. From the Earth, the Vera Rubin telescope as well other observational programs will increase drastically the number of discoveries of NEOs. Planetary defense is thus a field that keeps growing with a wide range of activities, from active space missions to space mission concepts and observations from the ground and from space, numerical modeling of asteroid properties and of deflection techniques as well as public communication. This session will present recent progresses and perspectives.

Apophis T-4 years: preparing for a once in a lifetime opportunity for planetary defense and science

On 27 January, the near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 was assigned a Torino Scale impact rating of 3, reaching a record high impact probability with Earth in 2032 before further observations ruled it out as a threat. This session will present on the multiple observations and methodologies used to assess the impact risk posed by 2024 YR4 on both Earth and the Moon. We will feature telescopic observational campaigns—including astrometric, photometric, and spectroscopic investigations—that together offer crucial insights into the determination of the orbit and physical properties. In addition, the session will discuss modeling techniques for physical characterization and dynamic simulations, as well as logistical challenges and lessons learned that can inform our response to future impact threats from similar objects. Participants are invited to share research findings and innovative approaches that enhance our planetary defense strategies.

Interstellar objects (ISOs) have become a novel field of Galactic small body studies, connecting the formation history of our Solar System to the processes of planetesimal creation and evolution that play out in planetary systems across the Milky Way.

The known population of ISOs is expected to increase soon, following 1I/`Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019, as the planetary science community reaps the benefits of a new generation of survey telescopes. At the given epoch, the intrinsic ISO population remains observationally unconstrained; theoretical predictions are equally influential as observed physical characteristics on our understanding.

This session explores the past, present, and future research on interstellar objects, and is therefore open to contributions from a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to):
- Planetesimal formation and ejection mechanisms
- ISO dynamics in the Galaxy
- Evolutionary processing of small bodies e.g. in the interstellar medium or tidal disruption
- The relationships of Solar System populations to ISOs
- Observational characterisation of the known ISO population, 1I and 2I
- Population modelling & predictions for future ISO discoveries
- Mission concepts for in-situ ISO observation

The session includes results from sample return missions, in particular those achieved by the recent OSIRIS-Rex (NASA), Hayabusa2 , (JAXA), Chang’e 5 (CNSA) and Chang’e 6. The aim is to stimulate the discussion on the perspective of future sample return missions, in terms of science and technological value, specifically in view of NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission.
The session is opened, but not restricted, to the following topics: a) new results from in-orbit observations of sample return missions; b) new laboratory analyses on samples returned from OSIRIS-REx, Hayabusa2, Chang’e 5, Chang’e 6 and past missions (e.g., Luna, Apollo, Stardust, Hayabusa); c) preliminary activities for the Mars Sample Return mission; d) preparation, performed studies and expected results from future sample return missions (e.g., Mars Sample Return, Tianwen2); e) new sample return mission concepts; f) technologies and methods for sample return; g) technologies and concepts for curation facilities; h) technologies and concepts for handling, transportation and analysis of
returned samples in laboratory and between laboratories.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is a new next-generation survey facility on Cerro Pachón, Chile. It houses the 8.4m Simonyi Survey Telescope coupled with the 3.2 Gigapixel LSSTCam camera. Over a ten-year period – projected to start in late 2025 – Rubin will execute the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Enabled by its 9.6 square degree field of view and a cadence that will image the sky in multiple filters every 3-4 days to ~24.5 mag, within a year the LSST will become the largest catalog of small body observations to date. This survey will discover millions of new objects ranging from orbits inward of Venus to far beyond that of Neptune. The LSST will go beyond just discovery; over its 10-year mission, it will obtain broad-band optical colors and phase curves, and perform real-time monitoring capturing episodes of cometary activity, changes in orbit, asteroid collisions, rotational breakup events, as well as rotational brightness variations. With its volume, richness, and precision, the LSST can dramatically advance the understanding of the Solar System.

The session will present the first Solar System discoveries and characterization data from Rubin commissioning efforts, and preliminary analyses made with those observations. We will also introduce the services and resources for public data access, including documentation and tutorials. We welcome submissions focused on topics related to early LSST Solar System science such as: predictions of discovery yields, presentations on Solar System-oriented alert brokers and other science-enabling tools, follow-up observations and campaigns, citizen science projects, and ways to combine LSST data with other sources of astronomical data. With the full LSST data stream arriving just a few months following this session, we hope to excite and prepare the community for science with this one-of-a-kind dataset.

The Martian system presents a unique environment with its two peculiar moons, Phobos and Deimos, whose origins remain a matter of debate, with discussions mostly between a giant collision or the capture of primitive asteroids. This session welcomes presentations that explore all facets of the two Martian moons, from their surface characteristics and internal structures to their interactions with the space environment. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, geophysical investigations, geo-chemical composition, orbital dynamics, and space-weathering processes.
We particularly encourage presentations on scientific results using data from past and present missions as well as abstract addressing the future exploration of Phobos and Deimos, including mission and instrument concepts and developments, and preparation studies for the upcoming JAXA’s Martian Moon eXploration (MMX) mission.

Saturn's moon Titan, despite its satellite status, has nothing to envy the planets: it has planetary dimensions, a substantial and dynamic atmosphere, a carbon cycle, a variety of geological features (dunes, lakes, rivers, mountains and more), seasons, and a hidden ocean. It even now has its own mission: Dragonfly, selected by NASA in the frame of the New Frontiers program. In this session, scientific presentations are solicited to cover all aspects of current research on Titan: from its interior to its upper atmosphere, using data collected from the Cassini-Huygens mission (2004-2017) and/or from telescopes (e.g., ALMA, JWST) and/or based on modelling and experimental efforts to support the interpretation of past and future observations of this unique world.

The integration of specialized techniques and methodologies from diverse disciplines has become increasingly common in planetary science research in recent years, paralleling the global trend of cross-disciplinary collaboration across scientific fields. Recent high-profile recognitions of interdisciplinary research contributions (e.g. Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry) have further fueled the utilization of external expertise across all subfields of planetary science.

Current publications on cross-disciplinary adaptations typically follow two approaches: principal investigators acquiring the necessary expertise themselves, or establishing partnerships with specialists from other fields to supplement the required knowledge. However, engaging with rapidly evolving disciplines, where innovations emerge frequently, presents significant overhead for interdisciplinary researchers. This cross-disciplinary trend is expected to intensify with the growing complexity of planetary science questions.

This session aims to explore various forms of engagement between planetary scientists and experts from other disciplines such as data science, chemistry, biology, geology, engineering, physics, social sciences, and other complementary domains. We invite contributions addressing:
- Knowledge transfer strategies across discipline boundaries
- Resource allocation and management in interdisciplinary projects
- Communication protocols and best practices for bridging disciplinary terminology gaps
- Lessons learned from both successful and challenging experiences
- Initiatives facilitating cross-disciplinary engagement