The 2017 NAPSA Workshop was focused on:
Volatiles Across the Solar System
Location: USGS Flagstaff Science Campus, Building 3 Conference Room
Date: Wednesday, February 15th, 2017
Time: 11:30 AM to 5:30 PM
Volatiles are ubiquitous across the Solar System. Most, if not all, planetary processes are affected by the presence of volatiles. As such, the Northern Arizona Planetary Science Alliance hosted a half-day workshop focusing on “Volatiles across the Solar System.”
Several questions of interest included, but were not limited to:
- What are the origins of volatiles – where did they come from?
- What is the inventory of volatiles – how much do we have?
- How do the volatiles interact with planetary processes – how volatiles interact and behave in planetary settings in the past and today?
- What are the consequences – how has the presence of volatiles shaped the bodies they exist on, in terms of enabling distinct geology, biology, heat transport, etc.?
- Comparative planetology – are there common process across multiple planetary bodies – e.g. there is a complete hydrological cycle on Titan except that the volatile is not water but is ethane/methane?
- Can these volatiles be “harvested” for In-situ Resource Utilization?
The workshop objectives were to become familiar with cross-institutional research, increase collaborations, and conceive new or novel approaches to solving planetary problems.
Remember, not only does the Earth provide an analog for many other planetary bodies – it is also a PLANET!
The 2017 Workshop Agenda can be found here.
