First announcement

HWO2026 Conference: Where cutting-edge science shapes tomorrow's technology

                                         November 30th to December 4th, 2026

We are delighted to announce the second open community event for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), to be held in Paris, France, from November 30 to December 4, 2026. Building on the momentum of the inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C. (July 2025), this conference will unite expert scientists, engineers, and technology developers to define HWO as the ambitious mission capable of directly imaging "Earth 2.0" and addressing key astronomical questions of the latter half of this century.

Planned as NASA Astrophysics’ next flagship mission, HWO is a multi-purpose observatory equipped with ultraviolet, optical, and infrared instrumentation. While one of its primary scientific drivers is the characterization of planets in the habitable zone and the search for biosignatures, its powerful capabilities will also enable the scientific community to investigate long-standing open questions in all domains of astrophysics (cosmology, stellar physics, extragalactic,...) and to confront emerging challenges we are only beginning to identify.

HWO stands on the shoulders of giants, leveraging the knowledge and experience gained from the Hubble, James Webb, and Roman Space Telescopes. However, realising its full potential requires bold new technologies. Already identified during the HWO2025 conference, these technologies are now being rigorously developed and assessed by the HWO academic and industrial community.

Given the strong interest from the European community, we are proud to organize HWO2026 in Europe. This event aims to showcase the unique scientific problems that only HWO can solve, inspire synergies with current and contemporary facilities, and foster interactions between scientific and engineering communities to drive the development of visionary technologies.

Session topics will include:

I. Life detection & habitability

II. Exoplanet science

III. Solar system

IV. Stellar science

V. Galaxies & Cosmology

VI. Technology & instrumentation

 

Looking forward to meeting you all in Paris,

Miriam Garcia, Brice-Olivier Demory and Coralie Neiner, on behalf of the HWO2026 SOC and LOC.