HWO2026 Conference: Registration open
Miriam Garcia
HWO2026 Conference: Where cutting-edge science shapes tomorrow's technology
November 30th to December 4th, 2026
2nd ANNOUNCEMENT
Registration for HWO2026 is now open!
We would like to encourage the submission of abstracts for oral
and poster contributions before May 31st.
A limited number of grants will be available to support attendance at HWO2026 (https://hwo2026.sciencesconf.org/resource/page/id/2). Grant requests are welcome also by May 31st.
Please, see additional key dates at the end of the first
announcement (attached).
Looking forward to meeting you all in Paris,
Miriam Garcia, Brice-Olivier Demory and Coralie Neiner, on behalf of the HWO2026 SOC and LOC.
1st ANNOUNCEMENT
We are delighted to announce the second open community event for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), to be held in Paris, France, from November 30 to December 4, 2026. Building on the momentum of the inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C. (July 2025), this conference will unite expert scientists, engineers, and technology developers to define HWO as the ambitious mission capable of directly imaging "Earth 2.0" and addressing key astronomical questions of the latter half of this century.
Planned as NASA Astrophysics’ next flagship mission, HWO is a multi-purpose observatory equipped with ultraviolet, optical, and infrared instrumentation. While one of its primary scientific drivers is the characterization of planets in the habitable zone and the search for biosignatures, its powerful capabilities will also enable the scientific community to investigate long-standing open questions in all domains of astrophysics (cosmology, stellar physics, extragalactic,...) and to confront emerging challenges we are only beginning to identify.
HWO stands on the shoulders of giants, leveraging the knowledge and experience gained from the Hubble, James Webb, and Roman Space Telescopes. However, realising its full potential requires bold new technologies. Already identified during the HWO2025 conference, these technologies are now being rigorously developed and assessed by the HWO academic and industrial community.
Given the strong interest from the European community, we are proud to organize HWO2026 in Europe. This event aims to showcase the unique scientific problems that only HWO can solve, inspire synergies with current and contemporary facilities, and foster interactions between scientific and engineering communities to drive the development of visionary technologies.
Session topics will include:
I. Life detection & habitabilityII. Exoplanet science
III. Solar system
IV. Stellar science
V. Galaxies & Cosmology
VI. Technology & instrumentation
For further information, registration, and abstract submission, please visit HWO2026's website:
Looking forward to meeting you all in Paris,
Miriam Garcia, Brice-Olivier Demory and Coralie Neiner, on behalf of the HWO2026 SOC and LOC.
Important dates:
. Early-bird registration: May 5th -- June 30th . Regular registration: July 1st -- November 8th . Abstract submission: April 7th -- May 31st . Selected abstracts announced: September 18th