Ref. PN 00/11

Issued by:

Peter Bond,
RAS Press Officer (Space Science).
10 Harrier Close,
Cranleigh,
Surrey, GU6 7BS,
United Kingdom.
Phone: +44 (0)1483-268672
Fax: +44 (0)1483-274047
E-mail: 100604.1111@compuserve.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE SYMPOSIUM CONTACT:
Shirley Jones,
Executive Secretary,
British Interplanetary Society,
27/29 South Lambeth Road,
London
SW8 1SZ
Tel: +44 (0)171-735-3160
Fax: +44 (0)171-820-1504
E-mail: bis.bis@virgin.net

or refer to the BIS web site at:
http://freespace.virgin.net/bis.bis/Bis.htm

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME CONTACT:
Dr. Julian A. Hiscox,
School of Animal and Microbial Sciences,
University of Reading,
Reading,
Berkshire
UK.
Tel: +44 (0)118 931 8893
Fax: +44 (0)118 931 0180
E-mail: j.a.hiscox@reading.ac.uk

The British Interplanetary Society will be hosting a one-day symposium entitled “The Outer Solar System, Europa, and the Possibility of
Life” in London on Wednesday 24th May.

The meeting is open to members of the media and the general public, but pre-registration is recommended since there is a limited number of
places.

Discussions about the possibility of life on other worlds in the Solar System usually focus on Mars, where conditions may once have been
suitable for life to evolve. Billions of years ago, Mars is thought to have had a warmer climate and liquid water on the surface.

However, over the last few years, data from the Galileo space probe, currently in orbit around Jupiter, have indicated that the large Jovian
satellite Europa has a layer of liquid water beneath its icy crust. Many scientists are now considering the possibility that Europa’s ‘ocean’
may contain microbial life.

Another cold world currently attracting a lot of scientific interest is Saturn’s giant moon Titan, the only satellite in the Solar System with a
significant atmosphere. Many scientists believe Titan’s nitrogen-rich atmosphere may be similar to that on the ancient Earth – before the
origin of life. Little is known about conditions on Titan because its surface is hidden beneath a thick blanket of orange ‘smog’, but this
situation should change when NASA’s Cassini spacecraft arrives at Saturn in 2004 and drops the European Space Agency’s Huygens
probe onto Titan’s surface.

The latest discoveries about Europa and Titan will be presented at the BIS Symposium by UK scientists who are participating in these
missions. Speakers will also discuss whether conditions in the Outer Solar System are suitable for life to evolve, future missions that may be
required to search for life and the possibilities that exist for habitable planets and moons in recently discovered solar systems around distant
stars.

THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM, EUROPA, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF LIFE.
Wednesday 24 May 2000
09.00 – 17.00
To be held in the British Interplanetary Society’s HQ at 27/29 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SZ

PROGRAMME.

The Jovian System from the Galileo Jupiter Orbiter:
Prof. Fred Taylor, University of Oxford

Comparative Aspects of the Systems of Jupiter and Saturn:
Prof. Carl Murray, Queen Mary and Westfield College

Europa and Other Icy Satellites as Possible Abodes of Life:
Dr David Rothery, Dept. of Earth Sciences, The Open University

“Bright Terrain” Morphology on Ganymede:
Constantine Thomas, Planetary Science Research Group, Lancaster University

Titan – Cassini-Huygens and the Initial Exploration of Its Surface Environment:
Dr. John Zarnecki, University of Kent

Life Outside the Habitable Zone:
Dr Julian Hiscox, School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, University of Reading

Sub-Glacial Lakes of Antarctica – An Analogue for Europa:
Dr Cynan Ellis-Evans, British Antarctic Survey

Comets – Vehicles for Prebiotic Compounds?:
Dr David Hughes, University of Sheffield

Are Discovery-Style Low Cost Missions to Explore Outer Solar System Bodies Feasible?:
Dr David Fearn, DERA, Farnborough.

The Current State of Play for Imaging Extra-Solar Planets:
Dr Stuart Clark, University of Hertfordshire