| Session Details | |
| Section | PS - Planetary Sciences |
| Session Title | Planetary Ices and Astrobiology |
| Main Convener | Dr. Andrew Dominic Fortes (University College London, United Kingdom) |
| Co-convener(s) | Dr. Steven Vance (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, United States) Dr. Ryo Nakamura (Tohoku University, Japan) Dr. Razvan Caracas (Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France) Dr. Kensei Kobayashi (Yokohama National University, Japan) Mr. Takenori Toyota (The University of Tokyo, Japan) Prof. Francois Raulin (University of Paris, France) Dr. Ken Williford (Curtin University of Technology, Australia) Dr. Christopher McKay (NASA AMES Research Center, United States) |
| Session Description | The aim of this session is to bring together experimental and computational mineral physicists and chemists studying all aspects of solar system ices' (both crystalline and amorphous) behaviour and properties, including phase equilibria, rheology, and spectroscopy. Contributors are asked to consider the impact of their work on future exploration, such as the TSSM / EJSM proposals, as well as applications to past and present missions. Contributions relating to ices on Mars, in the polar regolith of the Moon and Mercury, as well as in main-belt asteroids, are also welcome. Note that 'ices' is taken to include clathrate hydrates, cryogenic organic solids, and hydrated inorganic substances (e.g.,salt hydrates), in addition to water ice. This session also addresses the study of astrobiology, including (1) extraterrestrial organics and their relevance to origins of life (2) conditions on the early Earth that may have been necessary for the origin of life (3) subsequent events and conditions that may have contributed to the evolution of organisms and the development of Earth's climate (4) habitability of extraterrestrial atmospheres, surfaces and interiors (5) detectability of biosignatures. |