The 9th meeting of the ASB was held at Birkbeck, University of London, over the 7th and 8th of
September 2023, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the society’s formation.
With over 90 attendees, some of whom travelled a great distance to join us in person, across a wide
range of academic disciplines and career stages, I think I speak for the whole organising committee in lauding the success of ASB9 and extending my sincere thanks to all our speakers and poster presenters for enabling us to put together such an engaging programme. Highlights from our keynote speakers included updates from the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and sample return mission, novel biotechnologies supporting the sustainability of the space industry, and insights into how astrobiologists can offer a perspective fundamental to ensuring humanity’s future.
It was great to learn more about the fascinating, novel, and Bmely astrobiology research being carried out in the UK and beyond by our members, new and old, their collaborators and students, reflected by the high quality of the talks and posters on show at ASB9.
We hope many of you will join us for ASB10 in 2025!
- Andrew Rushby, Host of ASB9