Summer school "Icy Bodies in the Solar System and Life" Tartu, Estonia 1 - 8 August 2026

The summer school will consist of 3 parts, the first and the third part will take place in Reykjavik, the second part (which includes field work and excursions) will be based at Akureyri and Myvatn in Northern Iceland, close to the field sites. The programme includes:
lectures by internationally leading scientists covering a broad range of subjects in astrobiology

• investigation of colonisation of Mars analogue landscapes with in situ life detection techniques
• excursions to geologically and astrobiologically interesting sites (lava caves, new lava fields):
  • Námaskarð geothermal area
  • Krafla volcanic area
  • the Mars analogue landscapes in Northeastern Iceland
  • the Myvatn area with the Skútustaðir pseudocraters and the Hverfjall cinder cone
• a poster sessions for students and early career scientists
• participant-led discussions

Iceland is a uniquely suitable venue for the summer school, offering both easily accessible lava fields and glaciers in close proximity and an analog environment for NASA planetary exploration studies.

A preliminary programme of the summer course can be downloaded as a .xls file here.