Letters of Intent received in 2019

LoI 2021-2088
Advanced exoplanetology beyond 2030 : science questions and how to address them

Topics

Advanced exoplanet characterization,
Search for life and technosignatures, also in environments beyond terrestrial planets
Advanced techniques (future very large telescopes and interferometers, non-optical wavelengths, multipixel imaging, ...
Preparation of interstellar missions.

Rationale

Started approximately in the late 1980s, exoplanetology has up to now unveiled the main gross bulk characteristics of planets and planetary systems. In the future it will benefit from more and from larger telescopes and from advanced space missions. These instruments will dramatically improve their performance in terms of photometric precision, detection speed, and extend to multipixel imaging or high-resolution spectroscopy, allowing to go much deeper in the knowledge of planets.
The purpose of the proposed meeting is not the presentation of incremental advances, but the delineation of a vision about the future of the field of exoplanet research. It should lead to the exploration of advanced science questions that go beyond the reach of current instrumentation, and to present outlines that may address them with future ambitious telescopes and techniques.
Our presumption is that one is never too speculative: experience shows that som speculative predictions initially not accepted by the community have been confirmed years or decades later.