The largest European meeting on planetary sciences is held in Granada

The Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC2022) is the largest European meeting on planetary sciences and, since the first event in Berlin in 2006, has been the main dissemination platform for the European planetary science community. In 2022, thanks to a group coordinated by Luisa M. Lara, a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC), this congress will be held in Granada, with a record number of speakers and communications received in the history of the congress.

 "In this edition I would highlight the effervescence of scientific and technological ideas worldwide for the exploration of Solar System objects in the coming decades, even bringing material from other bodies in cryogenic conditions, for example", says Luisa M. Lara (IAA-CSIC), president of the local organizing committee (LOC).

EPSC2022 covers the full spectrum of planetary research and technology in more than sixty scientific conferences, with sessions addressing current and future missions, international collaborations, the influence of space weather on Earth, the formation of planets, the role of meteorites and astrobiology. This year's program is complemented by keynote speeches, discussions and joint events, including a multi-agency dialogue panel on the exploration of Venus.

The large influx of speakers and institutions has made it possible to organize, on the sidelines of the congress, a scientific meeting on the JUICE and Clipper missions with representatives from ESA and NASA. While JUICE, a mission in which the IAA-CSIC participates, will study Jupiter and its large icy moons (Ganymede, Callisto and Europa), Clipper will focus on Europa, and this meeting seeks to find synergies that result in the mutual benefit of both.

The celebration of the Europlanet in Granada has been possible thanks to the joint project presented from Granada by the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) and the Palace of Congresses of the city, which prevailed over the candidatures presented from Helsinki, Nice and Reims. The committee gave a very positive assessment of the quality of the project for Granada, which placed special emphasis on citizen participation, the inclusion of disadvantaged groups, as well as activities for children. In addition, the project highlighted the magnificent environment that the City of Granada offers both for quality science and quality leisure-culture.

"This meeting places the IAA as a benchmark in the organization of major international congresses and reaffirms Granada, even more so, in its title of City of Science and Innovation", highlights Lara (IAA-CSIC).

The EPSC2022, inaugurated yesterday, Monday, will run until September 23. This year's meeting has been coordinated as a joint event with the European Astrobiology Network Association (EANA), and brings together specialists working on the possibility of life beyond Earth.