Europlanet Science Congress 2026 (EPSC2026)

About the Europlanet Science Congress

The Europlanet Science Congress is the annual meeting place of the Europlanet community and one of Europe’s principal conferences for planetary science. EPSC2026 takes place at AMARE in The Hague while retaining virtual elements for access to oral and poster sessions. The scientific programme is built from community-proposed sessions and accepted abstracts, then delivered through talks, posters, workshops and panel discussions.

The congress deliberately covers planetary science as a connected field rather than separating missions, observations, laboratory work and modelling. Programme groups include terrestrial planets, outer-planet systems, small bodies, exoplanets and astrobiology, missions and instrumentation, and outreach and diversity. This breadth lets a mission scientist follow instrument or modelling work alongside results about a target body, while educators and amateur astronomers have defined participation categories. English is the official language, and presenting authors are expected to communicate their work in English without simultaneous interpretation. Registered remote participants can use the virtual elements to follow scientific content without travelling to The Hague.

Event history and organiser

EPSC was first held in Berlin in 2006 under the name European Planetary Science Congress. It has since become the annual meeting of the Europlanet community and now welcomes planetary scientists globally. The official history describes an established mix of talks, workshops and poster sessions, with interaction and exchange treated as part of the scientific purpose rather than an optional addition. For 2026, Europlanet and the EPSC2026 Scientific Organising Committee invite participation, while Copernicus Meetings provides the abstract, programme and registration infrastructure. Those roles should be described separately: Europlanet is the community and event identity, the scientific committee shapes the programme, and Copernicus supports the meeting administration. The Hague edition continues the in-person congress at AMARE while offering virtual elements, placing remote access within a format that has developed over more than two decades of recurring European planetary-science meetings.

Topics and themes

EPSC2026 organises a broad planetary-science programme into groups that connect target bodies, origins research, mission methods and engagement with the scientific community.

• Terrestrial planets: sessions bring together observations, geology, atmospheres and modelling for rocky worlds including Earth’s planetary neighbours.
• Outer planets and their systems: researchers examine giant planets, rings, moons and the physical processes shaping distant planetary environments.
• Small bodies: comets, asteroids, Kuiper Belt objects, meteorites and dust provide evidence about Solar System formation and evolution.
• Exoplanets, origins and astrobiology: work links planetary-system formation, potentially habitable environments and the search for life beyond Earth.
• Missions, instruments, techniques and modelling: programme sessions connect spacecraft investigations, measurement methods, laboratory studies, data analysis and simulation.
• Outreach, diversity and amateur astronomy: the congress includes community practice and participation alongside its core scientific programme.

Who should attend?

EPSC2026 is primarily for planetary scientists, mission researchers, instrument specialists, modellers, laboratory teams and data analysts. Researchers studying planets, moons, small bodies, exoplanets, origins or astrobiology can find dedicated programme groups while still accessing work from adjacent disciplines. Students and early-career researchers can present accepted abstracts, enter poster-related activities and build connections across the Europlanet community. Educators, outreach providers and amateur astronomers have explicit registration categories and relevant sessions, rather than being treated as a generic public audience. Science communicators and diversity practitioners may also find the outreach programme useful. On-site and virtual options suit different needs, but all participants, including invited speakers and presenting authors, must complete the appropriate registration.

Practical information

EPSC2026 is at AMARE in central The Hague. The congress language is English, and virtual elements provide access to oral and poster sessions for registered remote participants.

Check the final programme, presentation format, registration payment terms and detailed venue accessibility guidance. Authors should verify their assigned session and upload requirements; late registrants should use current published rates.