Sagan et al. (1993) analyzed a spectrum of the Earth taken by the Galileo probe, searching for signatures of life and concluded that the large amount of O2 and the simultaneous presence of CH4 traces are strongly suggestive of biology. To characterize a planet’s atmosphere and its potential (...)
The following have been identified as key science questions for the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems theme:
Circumstellar disk evolution and Planet formation How are the temporal evolution of circumstellar disks and the formation of planets connected? What is the role of (...)
The following have been identified as key science questions for the Targets and their Environments theme:
What are the physical properties (including mass and age) of the target stars? This requires the determination of the fundamental stellar properties such as the mass, radius, chemical (...)
This working group is supposed to formulate key questions about the formation and evolution of planetary systems (FEPS). Questions include circumstellar disk evolution and planetary formation (both in single binary star systems), planetary architecture evolution and stability, and ultimately (...)
The "Targets and their environments" working group has as its primary goal to provide the necessary information on the characteristics of stars and the way they can influence both the detection techniques and the structure and evolution of the planets themselves. This includes attaining a (...)
The habitability group is concerned with investigating the conditions on the surface of planetary bodies and the factors that determine whether a planetary body is habitable. The group is concerned with understanding whether observations of extrasolar planets match habitability criteria for (...)
Here are the key science questions that have been identified in relation to the Planetary Atmospheres and Surfaces theme:
What are the physical characteristics of the atmospheres (T, P, haze, clouds, winds) ? Spectra, polarization, spectral models What is the nature and composition of the (...)