Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to announce a China-ESA Mars School, to be run in May 2023 in Huairou, Beijing, China. It is jointly organised by the International Space Science Institute - Beijing (ISSI-BJ) and the European Space Agency (ESA), co-sponsored by National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences(NSSC, CAS).
Inspired by the scientific investigations conducted by an ever-growing fleet of missions, the Mars School aims to provide a broad overview of Martian planetary science, from its interior and surface to its atmosphere and interactions with space. Lectures will cover theoretical background & modelling to observation techniques & datasets, as well as the search for past or present life. The week will also include breakout discussions, social excursions, a poster session and potentially also a hands-on session with Mars mission data.
The workshop will cover topics including:
- Interior structure & evolution, Volcanism & tectonism, Mineralogy and climate evolution, Aqueous surface processes, Geomorphology,
- landscape evolution, Atmospheric dynamics, Atmospheric chemistry, Upper atmosphere,
- thermosphere, Aeronomy (airglows, aurorae etc), Space weather & radiation environment, Ionosphere,
- solar wind interaction & escape, Habitability and the search for life on Mars,
- Chinese & European Mars missions.
Lecturers and participants will be drawn both from Chinese and European Mars science communities.
Organization of the conference had been on hold due to coronavirus pandemic, but the recent changes of travel policy in China means that we now feel confident in being able to proceed with the conference. Accordingly, we will be opening application within the next week, with a foreseen application deadline of 24th Feb 2023. This short deadline is in place to leave sufficient margin for selection of financial aid (see below) and subsequent visa support & travel booking.
ESA will provide full travel funding to enable participation by a small number (~12, tbc) of European early career scientists. Priority will be given to those who are no more than three years post-PhD. Applicants will be selected to achieve a balance of representation of ESA member states, of topical areas, and of gender – so we invite a broad range of applications.
All details about the programme, application, and financial support for European participants, will be announced via the conference website at http://marsschool2023.casconf.cn.
Colin Wilson (ESA) & Yang Liu (NSSC), co-chairs of the science committee.
