The science of extrasolar planets is one of the most rapidly developing areas of astrophysics and planetary science. Ground-based surveys and dedicated space missions combined have resulted in over 700 planets detected already, with more than 1200 awaiting confirmation. Moreover, NASA’s Kepler mission has opened the possibility of discovering Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around some of the 100,000 stars it is surveying during its 3 to 4-year lifetime. The new Gaia mission is expected to discover thousands of new planets around stars within 200 parsecs of the Sun. A key challenge, therefore, is now characterization: what are these planets actually like and why are they as they are? To
answer these questions, a broad range of skills and expertise is required. Hence, we solicit papers related to extrasolar planets, ranging in topics from Solar System science to statistical astrophysics, from ground-based observations to spacecraft measurements, and from atmospheric/interior/orbital modelling to instrument building.