Press
Welcome to the Press Center
Free registration is available to full-time members of the media for the purpose of gathering news and information to produce media coverage of the Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon24). Press officers supporting researchers presenting at the conference and journalism students are also eligible for press registration.
Press registration will remain open through the end of the conference on Friday, 10 May. Review AGU’s press credentialing requirements for more information on press eligibility.
Reporters and press officers interested in press registration should email [email protected]. Please include a link to your institution’s staff page, byline or masthead listing your name and position. Freelancers should provide a link to a portfolio or links to at least three bylined science news stories published in the last 12 months.
Covering AbSciCon remotely
AbSciCon24 will host daily online discussion sessions at 10 am EDT and a selection of hybrid sessions. Recordings of in-person talks will be available in the online meeting platform 72 hours after the sessions end. The full scientific program is available now. Find hybrid in-person and online sessions by navigating to “browse by day” and select “hybrid” at the top.
AGU Media Relations will live stream press roundtables via Zoom Webinar and take questions from remote reporters.
Press Releases and Tipsheets
Media advisories and recommended presentations from the 2024 Astrobiology Science Conference are available from AGU's general newsroom. Browse press tips by topic, including:
- Explorations of possible life in our solar system's icy moons
- Evolution of life's tool box on Earth
- Exotically habitable exoplanets
- Could we see climate change from civilizations on distant planets?
- What we're packing for a space voyage
AbSciCon24 MEDIA ADVISORIES BROWSE TIPSHEETS
Press Roundtables
OSM Media Relations will host two 45-minute press Q&A panels in the onsite Press Room (557) and live on Zoom Webinar from the links provided below. Press events will be recorded and available to the public after the session. Passwords for Zoom webinar access will be provided to registered press by email and on the press information exchange. Please contact [email protected] for assistance.
How Venus lost its water
Monday, 6 May, 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time
Billions of years ago, Venus may have harbored just as much water as Earth. Today, almost all of it has disappeared. How the planet lost its water remains a mystery. In a new study, which will be published May 6 in the journal Nature (embargoed until 11 a.m.), researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder report that they’ve filled an important gap in this “water story on Venus.” The team will share its findings and describe their implications for Venus and planets across the galaxy.
Panelists:
- Eryn Cangi, Research Scientist, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), University of Colorado Boulder
- Michael Chaffin, Research Scientist, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), University of Colorado Boulder
Press contact:
- Daniel Strain, [email protected]
Related research presentations:
- 428-150 Present-day Venus Water Loss to Space is Dominated by Photochemical Processes and Constrains Volcanic Outgassing and Volatile Delivery. Poster session 9 May, 4:30 p.m.
- 213-04 Escape from Terrestrial Planets: Lessons from Mars and Venus. Hybrid oral session 7 May 3:00 p.m.
- More about Venus and habitability!
Does Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon, have the ‘right stuff’ to support life? How NASA’s Europa Clipper will help answer that question.
Tuesday, 7 May, 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time
NASA’s Europa Clipper’s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential of icy worlds beyond our planet. Members of NASA’s Europa Clipper team will be available to meet with journalists and answer questions about the mission’s science and engineering as it readies for launch in October 2024.
Panelists:
- Ingrid Daubar, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Steve Vance, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Elizabeth “Zibi” Turtle, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
- Lindsay Hays, NASA Senior Scientist for Astrobiology
Press contacts:
- Charles Blue, NASA [email protected]
- Michael Buckley, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, [email protected]
Related research presentations:
- 115-01 Europa Clipper’s Investigation of Europa’s Habitability. Oral session 6 May 3:00 p.m.
- 115-03 Europa Clipper: Five Months to Launch!
- 115-04 Europa Imaging System (EIS) Characterization of Geological Processes in Europa's Ice Shell and the Potential for Exchange with the Interior Ocean
- More about Europa and our solar system’s icy worlds.
Media Contacts
Samson Reiny
Assistant Director, Media and Public Relations
202.998.8654
[email protected]
Liza Lester
Media Relations Manager
202.777.7494
[email protected]
Hope Garland
Strategic Communication Senior Specialist
202.777.7452
[email protected]
Rebecca Dzombak
Specialist, Media Relations
202.777. 7492
[email protected]