HAbitability & Life on Other worlds

HALO - HAbitability & Life on Other worlds

(December 4-6th, 2024)

FR EN

Context

More than 5,000 exoplanets are known today, i.e. planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. Statistical analyses suggest that the frequency of planets with a radius between ~0.5 and 1.5 Earth radii and orbital separations that could in principle allow the existence of liquid water on their surface (i.e. the so-called habitable zone) is of the order of 60% for solar-type stars. Consequently, a systematic atmospheric study of dozens of Earth analogues and a quantitative assessment of their habitability and the possible existence of clues to life, i.e. atmospheric constituents that would indicate the presence of a biosphere on the planet (Schwieterman et al. 2018), requires large-scale, highly optimized space missions, notably with the two HWO and LIFE projects. Only in space can the three key ingredients required for coupling direct imaging and spectroscopy of telluric planets be implemented: high spatial resolution (of a few mas), optimal contrast performance (of 10^-10 in reflected light or 10^-6 in thermal emission) combined with sufficient sensitivity. In this context, our community is at the heart of numerous astrophysical and technological developments that could enable us to play a key role in these major missions with our European and international partners. In the context of CNES and INSU-AA foresight exercises, ESA and NASA programmatic calendars, and, Roman (HWO pathfinder), HWO and LIFE mission schedules, it is timely to organize a national workshop on this theme to identify and implement a proposed national astrophysical and technological roadmap on the theme of exo-world habitability and tomorrow's technological challenges within the framework of the Roman, HWO and LIFE space missions.

Goals

Within this framework, we are organizing a thematic workshop "HALO - HAbitabiliLé & vie sur d'autres mOndes”. Our main objectives are:

Objective 1 - to address the current state of scientific knowledge on the conditions of habitability of planets around M stars as well as K, G and F stars, biological activity and life indices for thermal emission and reflected light observations and their synergy, but also to identify the best targets ahead of the launch of Roman, LIFE and HWO,
Objective 2 - to identify technological challenges and current technological developments. This objective will enable us to revisit together the ambitious roadmap for the preparation of future space and ground missions, enabling us to identify the most important technological hurdles. Our aim is also to identify the best strategy for the French community to play a key role in detecting and characterizing the first signs of life in the atmospheres of temperate extrasolar telluric planets. This work will enable us to propose an astrophysical and technological roadmap for the French community,
Objective 3 - to provide feedback on our work and conclusions to the CNES and INSU working group, which may also be useful in the context of INSU and CNES national foresight.

Practical informations

The workshop will take place in person over two full days from December 4th (evening) to 6th (noon), 2024 at the CNRS Villa Clythia, located at 2754 Av. Henri Giraud, 83600 Fréjus.

Access: To come to the Villa, you will find the information for access on the following link.Carbon footprint: We encourage you to plan your trip to minimize your environmental impact by using the simulation tool developed by the Labo1point5 group.
Carbon footprint: We encourage you to plan your trip to minimize your environmental impact, using the simulation tool developed by the Labo1point5 group.
Venue: The Villa Clythia has a conference room with a capacity of 100 people in normal time, and several meeting rooms for parallel discussions. Dinner and lunch will also be held at the Villa and will be provided by the workshop.

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