Astronomers are now able to peer into the atmospheres of distant planets and search for signs of life. With the large diversity in exoplanets being found, confidently identifying remote signs of life is a complex process. E.g. while the high level of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere is the product of life, different planetary scenarios can produce oxygen rich atmospheres without any life-processes. Therefore we will need multiple lines of evidence to confidently declare a planet inhabited. Earth has been dramatically shaped by life for over 4 billion years and life plays a key role in regulating Earth’s surface chemistry and climate, providing multiple detectable signals a remote observer would be able to detect from afar. The biosphere-Earth co-evolving system is known as ‘Gaia’. Understanding the likelihood of Gaian-systems emerging on inhabited planets will inform us on the probability of confidently identifying an inhabited planet.

Numerous programmes have been conducted to search for techno-signatures using optical wavelengths. PANOSETI provides the opportunity for a link and follow up to new infrared laser optical ground stations (OGS) in the event of first contact for ETI communications within our local neighborhood of the Solar System. The OGS has a transceiver communications system that can provide the opportunity for post-contact protocols to be initiated with a potential ETI.

The U.S. military has recently begun deploying large constellations of small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) for communications and missile warning. This paper describes what such systems may entail, and discusses the impacts that they may have on astronomical and environmental interests. While the deployment of such constellations is being motivated by national security interests, the growth of the satellite population in LEO can also pose threats to national security. This includes not only concerns related to orbital congestion and orbital debris, but also issues that are closely related to the preservation of dark and quiet skies. This paper will highlight the overlapping threats posed by the growth of satellite constellations to both astronomical and national security interests, and describe a potential path forward for dark and quiet skies advocacy that leverages and collaborates with national security interests to establish norms against light and spectrum pollution.

Geodetic VLBI is an application of the radio astronomy observation technique to study planet Earth. It is one of the geodetic space techniques which provides information about Earth in space and its rotational behaviour, hence it is fundamental for the global geodetic reference frame (GGRF). In particular with this technique ICRF can be determined at radio wavelengths, further it contributes with other space techniques to ITRF materialisation. Daily geodetic VLBI measurements are vital for determining and predicting the time-varying alignment of the Terrestrial Reference Frame with respect to the celestial reference frame (Earth Orientation Parameters). The routine work is coordinated by the IVS as a service for IAG and IAU and carried out by different institutions such as mapping authorities, space agencies, universities and research centres. In 2015 a UN Resolution emphasised the importance of the GGRF for sustainable development and asked member countries to extend these activities. At the same time the telecommunication networks are expanded on ground and in space increasing the number of transmitters. Large satellite constellations can have an impact on Geodetic VLBI products since they almost all broadcast downlink high power signals in the K band, and uplink signals (e.g. 14.0-14.5 GHz for Starlink). Owing to the increasing number of large constellations, an aggregate effect should also be considered, since they use different frequencies, usually in the K band. Furthermore their unwanted electromagnetic noise degrades the VLBI observations of faint cosmic noise. The signal strength of radar systems can even be destructive to the high-sensitive receivers at VLBI radio telescopes. The strategy is to answer the question of how to protect the global geodetic network infrastructure (locations of VLBI telescopes) in the corresponding study group at ITU-R and to seek for protection of the observed bands (32 channelised frequencies) in geodetic VLBI (which exceed the bandwidths of those bands already allocated to RAS).

The discussion on the second day of the symposium centred on the Great Filter, a concept proposed by Robin Hanson as a way to reframe the analysis of the Fermi Paradox. It asserts that there must be a least one Great Filter – an evolutionary step that is extremely improbable – somewhere along a chain which starts from a lifeless Earth-like planet, followed by the sequential development of simple, complex, intelligent/technological life, and culminating in an explosive phase of readily-detectable galactic colonization. Some 25 years on from Hanson’s proposal, we examine the Great Filter’s continuing usefulness as a concept and current thinking on whether any such filter lies in our past (Early Great Filter), or is waiting in our future (Late Great Filter), and what this means for us and our search for life in the Universe.

It is generally believed that it is unlikely that our civilization is alone in this galaxy. This belief is central to the premise of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), which has focused mainly on searching for radio signals originating from extraterrestrial communications, since it is believed that extraterrestrial craft visiting Earth would be an extremely unlikely event. However, the fact that we ourselves are currently working on developing probes to send to the Alpha Centauri system by 2069, strongly suggests that other civilizations may make similar, or more ambitious, efforts. Therefore, it is reasonable to inform our expectations by considering what characteristics and capabilities would be required for an interstellar civilization to find and visit Earth. In this paper, a physics-based analytic model of expanding interstellar civilizations is developed. A million civilizations that encounter Earth are simulated and their statistics are studied to determine their characteristics.

A long-standing issue in astrobiology is whether planets orbiting the most abundant type of stars, M-dwarfs, can support liquid water and eventually life. Often previous studies have raised doubts for the habitability of planets orbting M-stars, due to the intense stellar activity during the early evolution. Those include solar-wind-like eruptions of the host star that could erode the planetary atmosphere, as well as the intense XUV radiation from the host. A new study shows that subglacial liquid water that accumulates on the night-side of tidally locked planets may provide an answer, significantly extending the habitability region, in particular around M-dwarf stars, which are also the most promising for biosignature detection with the present and near-future technology.

This paper presents some results from a survey carried out by the UK’s Federation of Astronomical Societies to determine the effect of satellite constellations on (principally) amateur astronomers’ observations, their mitigation methods and the effectiveness of those methods.

The last day of the Kavli-IAU symposium featured a fourth discussion, which was about the future. The discussion focused on the changing landscape of scientific research and the allocation of funding and their implications for the ideal scientist of tomorrow. It was chaired by H. Landt, who was joined by the four panellists E. Chatzichristou, J. R. A. Davenport, M. G. Edmunds and D. H. Grinspoon.

It is argued that a central challenge to the task of developing a foundational model for life lies within the implicit propositions of the Western scientific view. These propositions constrain thinking about the concept of life. Three implicit boundary conditions in particular - life as a property of a system, life as a purely biological phenomenon, and life as a binary concept - are identified, and it is suggested to replace them with three operational principles - synonymity of ’life’ with ’processes of change’; the foundation of change upon interaction; the recursion and integration of change over boundary conditions.

The UK is a nation with burgeoning ambitions for its space sector, which sits alongside a strong astronomical community embedded in major international science projects on the ground and in space. As the primary representative body for UK astronomers, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has the challenge of navigating these sometimes competing priorities, working to persuade the British government to give the science of astronomy the protection it requires. This paper summarises where we are, recent policy developments, and thoughts on our future plans.

The ambitious deployment of swarms of spacecraft into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has resulted in the rapid and increasing degradation of the night sky visibility. While commercial rationales exist for this rapid rise of large satellite constellations (so-called “megaconstellations”) their negative effects on astronomy, and other uses of the night sky, have implications on the future sustainable and equitable uses of outer space. The special regimes of international space law, as found in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and subsequent United Nations treaties on space, as well as in national regulation, have not provided the requisite guidance. Likewise, the regime of international environmental law, arguably more robust, fails to provide necessary guidance on the protection of the night sky from anthropogenic space objects. This article surveys the regimes of space law and environmental law for commonalities and points of convergence in an effort to strengthen the protection of the night sky and to offer pathways forward for concerned stakeholders.

This paper will focus on the satellite threat to observational astronomy. As a member of the Satellite Constellation Working Group: Observatories Subgroup a recommendation was drafted for the Dark and Quiet Skies 2 Report, which shall be discussed. I shall also discuss SatHub activities and the education of observers about satellite constellations for regular citizens, amateur astronomers and professional astronomers and the outreach activities planned.

A groundbreaking collaboration in Canada has united astrophysicists, science educators, and teachers to create Exoplanets in the Classroom – a dynamic suite of K-12 resources designed to inspire the next generation of scientists. Featuring hands-on activities, practical slide decks, engaging videos, and profiles of trailblazing Canadian astronomers, this comprehensive collection of resources is freely accessible online in both French and English. Since 2021, the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (IREx) at the Université de Montréal, in partnership with Discover the Universe and other educational innovators, has crafted these resources with input from over one hundred Canadian teachers. This rigorous, iterative process ensures seamless integration into a wide range of subjects, from science to the arts, all while meeting Canadian K-12 curriculum standards.

These innovative resources provide educators with the tools to captivate students with the wonders of exoplanet research and the stories of diverse, local scientists at the forefront of discovery. Already tested and embraced by students and teachers from diverse backgrounds, these materials are now poised to inspire a global audience, offering astrophysicists and educators a powerful way to ignite curiosity and engage learners in classrooms and beyond.

Martian meteorites are currently our only existing samples from Mars. They are divided into two primary types, the shergottites and the nakhlite-chassignite types. The shergottites are by far the most abundant of the Martian meteorites. Apatite in particular is the only volatile bearing phase in these and thus is crucial for understanding volatile cycles on Mars. The primary goal of the study is to understand the effects of shock metamorphism on the volatile content of apatite. In particular, looking at intergrown apatite-merrillite grains to observe the Cl variation within apatite and to determine if the merrillite is in fact merrillite or if its tuite. Here we used various chemical analyses to accurately map the mineralogy of shergottite NWA 7397 to learn more about volatile content and shock effects to constrain its petrogenesis.

For NWA 7397, what we focused on was the phosphates. Mainly on the calcium phosphates, apatite (Ca5[PO4]3[F, CL, OH]) and merrillite (Ca9Na(Fe, Mg)(PO4)7). We can identify apatite based on its volatile components (F and Cl) as part of its crystal structure which merrillite lacks. Apatite is, however, the only volatile bearing phase in shergottites, making it our only was to constrain water and Cl content of martian magmas and by extension martian mantle reservoirs. However, the volatile contents can be effected by shock ejection when the rock was blasted off the martian surface. This means we need to understand the effects of shock before using apatite to estimate magma volatile content. From our research so far we have been able to identify apatite and merrillite, but no tuite. This will require further analysis to identify tuite, if any is present.

Conway’s Game of Life is a cellular automaton noted for its rich, complex, and emergent behaviour, which seems qualitatively ‘lifelike’. It exists within a wider space of different rulesets of cellular automata, none of which have been found to display behaviours that seem as rich as Conway’s selected example. We present here a set of three quantitative tests for ‘lifelike’ behaviour, based on the critical brain theory, Shannon’s theory of information entropy and integrated information theory, all of which are successfully able to select Conway’s Game of Life as an outlier within this set, which is a non-biological analogue to the selection of a habitable planet or universe amongst a wider space of similar settings that cannot support the same kinds of living systems.

This paper engages with the conference themes of community engagement and awareness raising, through proposing narratives which provide alternative stories to the belief in unrestricted technological development. The plan to launch up to 400,000 satellites into Earth orbit is an example of unregulated corporate capitalism: many private corporations and governments are encouraging rapid growth of the space sector without sufficient consideration of broader and potentially consequences for Earth and space environments or the interests and welfare of the wider community. My question in this paper is how far sustainability narratives from the humanities and social sciences can assist in the attempts to limit pollution of the sky and near-Earth environment.

Commercial endeavours have already compromised our relationship with space. The Artemis Accords are creating a framework that will commercialize the Moon and further impact that relation. To confront that impact, a number of organizations have begun to develop new principles of sustainability in space, many of which are borne out of the capitalist and colonial frameworks that have harmed water, nature, peoples and more on Earth. Indigenous methodologies and ways of knowing offer different paths for living in relationship with space and the Moon. While Indigenous knowledges are not homogeneous, there are lessons we can use from some of common methods. In this talk we will review some Indigenous methodologies, including the concept of kinship and discuss how kinship can inform our actions both on Earth and in space.