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The Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS), a NASA research coordination network dedicated to the study of planetary habitability, is pleased to announce a five-day conference on “Habitable Worlds 2017: A System Science Workshop” from Nov 13-17, 2017 in Laramie, WY. The field of exoplanets is currently at the cusp of a watershed moment in finding life on other worlds, propelled by the discoveries of habitable zone terrestrial planets in both ground and space-based surveys, and the potential for future telescopes to characterize the atmospheres of some of these rocky planets. Preparing for such a singular moment needs a diverse community, including Earth scientists, heliophysicists, planetary scientists, and astrophysicists.

Following the goals of NExSS to investigate the diversity of exoplanets and to learn how their history, geology, and climate interact to create the conditions for life, and corresponding bio-signature detection, the conference aims to address these questions:

1. What are the properties of habitable planets?

2. What would they look like?

3. How do you find them?

4. How do they form and what are their histories?

The conference will span five days, with plenary talks in the mornings, breakout groups for in-depth discussions in the evenings, and ample space and time for posters. Breakout groups will provide a brief summary of their discussions on the last day of the meeting. We welcome suggestions from the community on the topics to be discussed in the breakout discussions.

For future details on the meeting, please sign up on our conference mailing list at: https://nexss.info/community/workshops/habitable-worlds-2017.

Any questions may be directed to HabWorlds17@gmail.com.