Keynote lecture by Alessandra Candian (University of Amsterdam)

One, No One and One Hundred Thousand: Identities and Belonging in Planetary Science

Planetary science asks us to understand worlds beyond our own—yet the ways we ask questions, and decide what matters are deeply shaped by who we are, by our identities. These identities shape our opportunities, experiences, priorities, and perspectives—and enrich the ways in which knowledge is created.
As an inherently interdisciplinary endeavor, planetary science depends on the productive encounter of different forms of expertise. Its success also depends on making space for the diversity of people and lived experiences that sustain these complementary expertise.
In this talk I will explore how recognizing our multiple identities can help us better understand participation in planetary science and offer an overview of the Dutch context, including continuing challenges and opportunities for change.

Keynote lecture by Dominique Bockelee Morvan (Observatoire de Paris)

Abstract
Comets are remnants of Solar System formation. The passage of a bright comet-like interstellar object through the Solar System had long been anticipated, as it offers a unique opportunity to investigate the chemical and isotopic properties of icy planetesimals formed in other planetary systems and, in turn, to constrain the diversity of planetary formation environments across the Galaxy. The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered on 2025 July 1 on a highly hyperbolic orbit, when it was 5 au from the Sun. As it approached the Sun, its gaseous activity increased rapidly, enabling detailed observational studies. It was observed worldwide with numerous ground- based and space-based observatories, including several spacecraft. The comet reached perihelion on 2025 October 29. In this talk, I will present the main observational results, with particular emphasis on the chemical and isotopic composition of 3I/ATLAS. These measurements reveal significant differences from Solar System comets and suggest that 3I/ATLAS is a preserved fragment of an ancient planetary system that formed in a relatively metal-poor Galactic environment.

Keynote lecture by Anne Grete Straume (ESA)

Abstract
Envision is ESA’s next mission to Venus and was adopted in January 2024. Thales Alenia Space Itay (TAS-I) was awarded the contract to build the spacecraft in December 2024, initiating the mission implementation. The launch is scheduled for the early 2030s, and the start of the science operations at Venus is expected in mid 2030s, following the mission cruise and aerobraking phase around Venus to achieve a low Venus polar orbit. The scientific objective of Envision is to provide a holistic view of the planet from its inner core to its upper atmosphere, studying the planets history, activity and climate. Envision aims to establish the nature and current state of Venus’ geological evolution and its relationship with the atmosphere. Envision’s overall science objectives are to: (i) characterize the sequence of events that formed the regional and global surface features of Venus, as well as the geodynamic framework that has controlled the release of internal heat over Venus history; (ii) determine how geologically active the planet is today; (iii) establish the interactions between the planet and its atmosphere at present and through time. Furthermore, Envision will look for evidence of past liquid water on its surface. The nominal science phase of the mission will last six Venus cycles (~four Earth years), and ~210 Tbits of science data will be downlinked using a Ka-/X-band communication system. The science objectives will be addressed by five instruments and one experiment, provided by ESA member states and NASA. The NASA S-band Synthetic Aperture Radar contribution is, however, at the time of writing highly uncertain, and ESA is therefore investigating alternative European S-band SAR technologies for the targeted (repeat) surface imaging, polarimetric and stereo imaging, radiometry, and altimetry. The procurement of the high-frequency Subsurface Radar Sounder (SRS) is lead by ASI, and the instrument will perform novel sounding of the upper crust in search of material boundaries. The three spectrometers, VenSpec-U, VenSpec-H and VenSpec-M, operating in the UV and Near-IR, will map trace gases, search for volcanic gas plumes above and below the clouds, and map surface emissivity and composition. Their procurements are led by CNES, BELSPO and DLR. The Radio Science Experiment (RSE) will exploit the spacecraft Telemetry Tracking and Command (TT&C in Ka-/X bands) system to determine the planet’s gravity field and to sound the structure and composition of the middle atmosphere and cloud layer in radio occultation. Its science related procurement is led by CNES. All instruments have heritage and robust margins relative to the requirements for operations at Venus, and were chosen to meet the broad range of measurement requirements needed to support the Envision scientific objectives. The science teams will adopt an open data policy, with public release of the scientific data in the ESA Planetary Science Archive (PSA) after validation and verification. Public calibrated data availability is <6 months after data downlink. ESA is starting a competitive Phase B1 for a European SAR instrument in summer 2026. In parallel, a European SAR Instrument Science Team is being appointed to support ESA and the Envision Science Working Team (SWT) for the European SAR design finalization. Furthermore, new SWT working groups have started to work on the scientific preparation of the mission in the areas of Venus surface Regions of Interest, Envision aerobraking science, Venus atmosphere science, Venus surface, subsurface and interior science, and Venus spin state science. In this presentation, the scientific objectives of the mission will be presented, including an overview of on-going scientific activities in the working groups and beyond.

Panel discussion with Colin Wilson (ESA), Gerhard Kminek (ESA), Lonneke Roelofs (Utrecht University), Julia de León (IAC), Michel Blanc (IRAP)

Abstract
Planetary exploration is entering a new era, with ambitious missions, commercial activities, and the prospect of exploiting extraterrestrial resources becoming increasingly realistic. But does this expansion represent a unique opportunity for scientific discovery, or could it introduce new risks to the preservation and integrity of planetary environments? Experts will discuss the scientific, technological, ethical, and environmental implications of humanity’s growing presence beyond Earth—and explore how we can balance exploration and innovation with the responsible protection of our Solar System.

Keynote lecture by Flavio Petricca (JPL)

Abstract
Icy satellites throughout the outer Solar System - from the Galilean moons to Titan, Enceladus, and the moons of Uranus - have emerged as some of the most compelling targets in planetary science. Thanks to the Galileo and Cassini missions, some of the mysteries surrounding their interior structures have been revealed, including the potential existence of subsurface liquid water. Yet fundamental questions remain open: the existence of global subsurface oceans, the thickness of the outer ice shells, the composition of the putative oceans, the nature of water-rock interactions, and the role of tidal dissipation in sustaining the oceans over geological time.
The surprising discoveries and the questions that stemmed from them ignited the next generation of missions to icy satellites, and the next two decades will bring transformative changes in our understanding of icy satellite interiors. NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's JUICE mission will provide gravity, magnetic, and compositional measurements of the Jovian icy moons that will yield unprecedented knowledge of the interiors of Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. NASA's Dragonfly mission will deliver in-situ exploration of Titan's surface through the first rotorcraft mission to an icy satellite. Looking further ahead, a mission to Enceladus, currently under study by ESA as a candidate L4 mission, promises to directly sample plume material and probe the moon's active ocean-rock interface, building on the legacy of Cassini.
In this talk, I will review the current state of knowledge on icy satellite interiors based on past missions, highlight the geophysical techniques used to probe them, and discuss how the coming generation of missions will reshape our understanding of ocean worlds and their potential habitability in the decades ahead.

Keynote lecture by Claudia Mignone (INAF)

Abstract
Solar eclipses are rare, extraordinary events that engage billions of people with the fascination of celestial phenomena. Except perhaps the most famous space missions, solar eclipses are arguably the only events that really bring astronomy to big crowds, moving as many people as pop music concerts or the football world cup. For a brief time after the event, people who experienced a total eclipse of the Sun also exhibit pro-social behaviour and an enhanced interest towards STEM disciplines. This talks highlights the benefits from international collaboration among scientists, science communicators and educators, such as the "Eclipsing Borders" project, to leverage on this enhanced curiosity and inspiration in order to build a long-lasting engagement towards astronomy, astronomical culture and its role in society.

Keynote lecture by Stephen Mojzsis (Bayerisches Geoinstitut)

Abstract
Life on Earth emerged within a narrow time window delimited by the cessation of late accretion bombardment on the one hand, and evidence gleaned from molecular phylogenetic studies, isotopic biosignatures and morphological traces on the other. Molecular clock analyses place the median age for the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) population of all contemporary DNA life at ca. 4.2 Ga. Cryptic isotopic biosignatures go back as far as 4.1± 0.01 Ga in Hadean zircons (δ¹³C = -24 ± 5‰) and more robustly in Eoarchean rocks at ca. 3.83 Ga (δ¹³C ≈ -35‰). Morphological remains including microfossils and microbially mediated sedimentary structures are almost as ancient (ca. 3.5 Ga). Here, I parameterize the kinetic windows for abiogenesis and show that before the LUCA, a postulated RiboNucleic Acid (RNA) and/or RiboNucleoProtein (RNP) World persisted for less than ~130 Myr. Earth’s kinetic windows stand out compared to other worlds in our Solar System and provide a guide for searching for biospheres on rocky worlds around other stars: sustained stable liquid water from ca. 4.4 Ga, wet-dry cycling under an atmosphere, effective crustal recycling to rejuvenate disequilibrium chemistry, available key elements for chemistry, mechanisms to concentrate prebiotic reaction products, and sufficient spatial scales for geochemical and proto-biochemical evolution. I also argue that the emergence of the RNA World and its subsequent evolution required organic precursors coordinated with environmental conditions in time with each transition – from prebiotic chemistry to cellular life – governed by distinct rate-limiting processes operating over 10⁵–10⁸ year timescales.