The scope of the meeting reflects the extraordinary breadth of modern planetary research. Sessions will span the full spectrum of the discipline: new results from the Solar System, the characterization of exoplanetary and interstellar bodies, updates on current and forthcoming space missions, ground-based observational campaigns, and the increasingly prominent role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in extracting insight from planetary data. Planetary defence, the emergence of life in our Solar System and beyond, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence — SETI — all feature prominently on the programme, a signal of how far the field has expanded from its geology-and-telescopes origins into a genuinely interdisciplinary enterprise that touches on astrobiology, engineering, data science and even public policy.

The choice of host city carries a poetic resonance for attendees. The Hague holds a singular place in the history of astronomy: it was the birthplace of Christiaan Huygens, the seventeenth-century polymath who pioneered the telescope and discovered Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The city was also the site of the world’s first published written account of an astronomical observation made with a telescope — a milestone that effectively inaugurated the era of observational planetary science. Four centuries later, a Congress devoted to exploring Titan’s methane lakes, Saturn’s rings and the distant corners of the Solar System returning to Huygens’ hometown is more than a logistical coincidence; it is a deliberate act of historical continuity. Organizers have embraced this connection, planning an extensive public outreach programme in the run-up to and during the conference week, including a walking tour threading through the city’s astronomical heritage, concerts, arts installations, public lectures and events designed for local schools.

For media representatives, the Congress offers unusually rich material. Media registration is free, and bona fide journalists can register by contacting the Europlanet press office. Press briefings will be livestreamed for remote audiences, and the EPSC2026 Press Office will issue press notices throughout the week highlighting presentations of particular interest. Two briefings, in particular, are already generating considerable buzz among space scientists and space journalists alike — and both concern European missions arriving at pivotal moments in their operational lifetimes.

The first, scheduled for Monday 7 September at 11:00 CEST, will focus on the European Space Agency’s Hera mission as it counts down to its arrival at the Didymos binary asteroid system. Hera represents the follow-up act to one of the most dramatic planetary science experiments ever conducted: NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, which deliberately impacted the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos in September 2022 to test humanity’s ability to alter the trajectory of a near-Earth object. DART succeeded spectacularly, shortening Dimorphos’ orbital period around its parent asteroid and proving that the kinetic impactor technique is a viable planetary defence strategy. But the experiment left behind critical unanswered questions — most notably, the precise internal structure of Dimorphos and the detailed physics of how the impact crater formed and how momentum was transferred. Hera, arriving at the system in November 2026, will conduct a detailed post-impact survey of Dimorphos, transforming a one-off experiment into a fully characterized planetary defence benchmark.

The press briefing will provide updates on the status and plans for the mission post-arrival, but organizers have also promised something more: the Hera team will unveil what they describe as a revolutionary way for the public to engage with the mission and become part of its space adventure. The briefing will also cover the ESA/JAXA RAMSES mission, which will rendezvous with the asteroid (99942) Apophis and accompany it during its exceptionally close flyby of Earth on 13 April 2029 — a natural experiment in asteroid science that occurs only once every few thousand years for an object of this size. Speakers will include Michael Küppers, ESA Hera Project Scientist at ESA-ESAC in Spain; Patrick Michel, Hera Mission Principal Investigator, RAMSES ESA Project Scientist and Director of Research at CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in France; and Heli Greus of the Hera and RAMSES ESA project teams. Together, these missions represent Europe’s commitment to building a comprehensive, layered planetary defence capability — from impact prediction to impact response.

The second major briefing, on Wednesday 9 September at 12:45 CEST, concerns the long-awaited arrival of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission at Mercury. After an eight-year journey through the inner Solar System, involving a series of gravity assists that have tested the patience of mission planners and the endurance of the spacecraft’s thermal systems, BepiColombo will finally reach its destination this autumn. The timeline is tightly choreographed: separation of the European and Japanese orbiters from the Mercury Transfer Module will take place on 3 September, orbit insertion follows on 21 November, and the ESA Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA’s Mio spacecraft will separate from each other on 9–10 December. From that moment, BepiColombo will officially become the first two-spacecraft mission operating at Mercury, with the science phase beginning in April 2027.

The significance of this architecture cannot be overstated. Mercury remains the least explored of the terrestrial planets, a world of extremes where surface temperatures swing from searing daylight to frigid darkness and where a surprisingly strong magnetic field hints at a partially molten core. Operating two spacecraft simultaneously — one optimized by ESA, the other by JAXA with a complementary instrument suite — allows scientists to make coordinated, two-point measurements of the planet’s magnetic environment, exosphere and magnetospheric dynamics that no single spacecraft could achieve. The briefing will feature Santa Martinez, Mission Manager; Ignacio Tanco, Head of the Inner Solar System Missions Unit; Geraint Jones, Lead ESA Project Scientist; and Go Murakami, JAXA Project Scientist, offering an update on the spacecraft’s condition following the transfer module separation and an overview of the critical steps ahead.

Beyond the headline briefings, the Congress programme offers a window into the techniques reshaping planetary science itself. The dedicated sessions on artificial intelligence and machine learning reflect a discipline undergoing a methodological transformation: convolutional neural networks now classify craters and surface features across vast planetary image archives, while machine learning pipelines sift through the exponential growth of data returned by modern instrumentation. Sessions on interstellar bodies will revisit the paradigm shift that began with the detection of objects such as ‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov — visitors from other star systems whose compositions offer the only direct sampling of material formed around alien suns. Planetary defence sessions will build on the momentum of DART and the anticipation surrounding both Hera and RAMSES, while astrobiology and SETI sessions will tackle what many consider the deepest question in science: whether life is a cosmic inevitability or an improbable fluke.

The hybrid format, which proved its worth in recent editions of the Congress, ensures that scientists unable to travel — whether for financial, political or personal reasons — can still participate fully in sessions and discussions, a model that has measurably broadened participation across the more than 40 countries represented. Details of scientific sessions and presentation abstracts are available through the official EPSC2026 website, alongside a programme overview and information about the public walking trail and events in The Hague. The meeting hashtag, #EPSC2026, will aggregate real-time discussion throughout the week.

What emerges from the programme as a whole is a portrait of planetary science at an inflection point. Within a single year, Europe has missions arriving at Mercury and at a battered asteroid moonlet, a planetary defence mission to Apophis in development, and a community embracing computational tools that would have seemed like science fiction a generation ago. That all of this converges in the city where humanity first recorded what it saw through a telescope gives EPSC2026 a narrative arc that few scientific conferences can claim. From Huygens’ crude refractor to a two-spacecraft orbital mission at the innermost planet, the through-line is unbroken: an unrelenting curiosity about the worlds beyond our own, now armed with instruments and international cooperation that the Dutch master himself could scarcely have imagined. For the 1,200 scientists gathering in The Hague this September, the next chapter of that four-century-old story is about to be written.

News Publication Date: 6-Sep-2026

Web References: Not provided

References: Media reminder: Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2026. EurekAlert! Not provided.

Keywords

Europlanet Science Congress, EPSC2026, planetary science, Hera mission, BepiColombo, Mercury, Dimorphos, asteroid deflection, planetary defence, RAMSES, Apophis, The Hague

At the heart of this study is the development of reflectance spectra—the color-coded signatures of various microorganisms found in Earth’s atmosphere. These microorganisms, which thrive within clouds, produce vibrant biopigments that have long captivated researchers. Until now, the contribution of these atmospheric organisms to life detection efforts has largely been overlooked. By analyzing the spectral data, the researchers are laying the groundwork for identifying similar biosignatures on exoplanets, regardless of their observable surface conditions.

Astrobiologist Ligia Coelho, who spearheaded the study at Cornell’s Carl Sagan Institute, emphasized the potential of recognizing life forms that may not be visible through conventional means. She noted that the existence of colorful microorganisms in our atmosphere adds an unexpected layer to our search for signs of life beyond Earth. This research shines light on the possibility that life could exist in environments previously deemed inhospitable for observation, such as those shrouded in thick cloud cover.

The study, titled “Colors of Life in the Clouds: Biopigments of Atmospheric Microorganisms as a New Signature to Detect Life on Planets Like Earth,” was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for our understanding of life in the universe and could have lasting effects on how telescopes are designed and operated in the future. Coelho articulated optimism, stating that the discovery that life in clouds could even serve as a beacon for detection changes everything we thought we knew about where to look for extraterrestrial organisms.

In this research endeavor, specialized techniques were employed to collect data about microbial populations high in the Earth’s atmosphere. Collaborators from the University of Florida utilized a helium-filled latex balloon to gather samples from elevations between 21 and 29 kilometers. These specific altitudes are crucial for sampling because they offer a unique atmosphere where microorganisms can thrive, but are difficult to access through conventional means.

To find similar microbial populations viable for detection on other celestial bodies, these organisms would need to exist in humid environments, capable of supporting life at sufficient densities. Such conditions are essential for the biopigments to become prominent as detectable biosignatures from great distances. This necessity underscores the delicate balance of ecological requirements that any exoplanet would need to meet to support life that can be recognized by our instruments.

As astronomers turn their sights on the newly identified opportunities to detect life on cloudy exoplanets, advancements in telescope technology will play an integral role. The study highlights new strategies that must be implemented in the design and operational methodologies for upcoming observational facilities. Notably, NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory, which is currently in development, and the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope, projected to be operational in the 2030s, will need to incorporate these novel approaches to maximize their potential for discovering signs of life.

Coelho’s ability to identify such biopigments as viable biosignatures expands the palette of potential indicators for life beyond Earth. She notes the critical evolutionary roles these pigments possess; from enhancing resilience against environmental stresses such as radiation to serving as survival mechanisms for various organisms, biopigments have a universal presence in nature. Their identification in ecological niches should, therefore, serve as a key indicator of biological material.

In light of this research, the scientific community is encouraged to reevaluate traditional methods of studying exoplanets. Clouds previously viewed as obstacles in life detection campaigns may instead serve as an advantageous feature in observing the diversity of life forms in the universe. The prospect that microorganisms could be thriving in thick layers of clouds opens up a myriad of possibilities for the kinds of worlds we might encounter and the forms of life they may host.

As this study unfolds, it is essential for scientists, astronomers, and the broader public to engage with these findings. The implications of discovering microbial life in atmospheres elsewhere in the universe would be monumental, redefining humanity’s understanding of our place in the cosmos. Educating the public about these advancements is crucial—not just in fostering a scientific understanding, but in cultivating a sense of curiosity and wonder about the universe that surrounds us.

In conclusion, the innovative research from Cornell University marks a significant step forward in astrobiology. With the capacity to detect life forms concealed within the dense clouds of distant exoplanets, astronomers might be closer than ever to unraveling the mysteries of life beyond Earth. The future of life detection is not merely grounded in terrestrial surface conditions but can also thrive in the vibrant colors and complex ecosystems hidden within atmospheres. This avenue promises a wealth of new discoveries that could transform our understanding of life and its many forms throughout the universe.

Subject of Research: The role of atmospheric microorganisms and their biopigments in detecting extraterrestrial life on exoplanets with cloud cover.
Article Title: Colors of Life in the Clouds: Biopigments of Atmospheric Microorganisms as a New Signature to Detect Life on Planets Like Earth
News Publication Date: 11-Nov-2025
Web References: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/11/how-spot-life-clouds-other-worlds
References: DOI 10.3847/2041-8213/ae129a
Image Credits: Not available.

Keywords

Exoplanets, astrobiology, biopigments, extraterrestrial life, atmospheric microorganisms, telescopes, life detection, Cornell University, cloud cover, microbiology, astrobiological studies.