International School of Astrobiology
«Josep Comas i Solà»
Palacio de La Magdalena
Santander, Spain
The International Astrobiology School «Josep Comas i
Solà» is co-directed by the NASA Astrobiology Program and the
Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, at the Universidad Internacional
Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP), sponsored by the Instituto Nacional de Técnica
Aeroespacial (INTA) and European Space Agency (ESA) Academy. Held annually at
the Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander, Spain, it is a well-established school
for the astrobiology community. A week-long program for graduate students and
young postdoctoral fellows provides lectures from international experts, round-table
discussions, student projects and presentations, a whole-day field excursion to
a nearby site of astrobiological interest, and cultural activities provided by
the hosting university. This program forges new relationships and helps build
international collaboration in astrobiology.
The Josep Comas i Solà Astrobiology School is a unique forum to foster and
consolidate transatlantic relationships through science and culture.
UIMP and Santander
Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo
Cursos de verano en Santander
Santander
Palacio de la Magdalena
Secretaría de Estudiantes' Useful information
Organisers, sponsors and collaborators
Víctor Parro (co-Director)
Britney E. Schmidt (co-Director)
José A. Caballero (Secretary)
NASA Astrobiology Program
CAB
ESA Academy
INTA
Cornell University
Neocueva Altamira
Paseando en el tiempo
More links
Previous astrobiology schools
Josep Comas i Solà
Sueño de mandarino
XXI International School of Astrobiology
Origins to Organisms: Understanding Life's Beginnings
07-11 July 2025
Essential questions in Astrobiology include: What is life? How
and why did life emerge? Does life exist or has existed in places beyond the
Earth? Is life a necessary consequence of the physical and chemical evolution of
planets? What are the conditions for life to emerge and adapt to environmental
changes? Just over a century ago, «The Origin of Life» (1924), by A. I. Oparin,
revolutionized the approach to the study of life's origins. Thus the XXI
International Astrobiology School «Josep Comas i Solà» in 2025 is devoted to
understanding life's beginnings and the planetary context for life's
origin and evolution.
For one week four outstanding experts in the field –two American and two
European– will lecture and guide discussion with 40 graduate students on
key aspects of early Earth geochemistry, prebiotic environments, the formation
of energy gradients, molecular complexity, the formation of polymers and the
gain of functions, origin of metabolisms, and emergence of supramolecular
complexes and protocells.
Program (17 June 2025)
Excursion to the Zumaia Section
2025 school webs
UIMP (ES)
CAB (ES)
NASA (EN)
2005 lecturer's webs
Laurie Barge (Scientific Society for Astrobiology, USA)
Matthew Powner (University College London, UK)
Greg Fournier (Department of Earth, Atmospheric
and Planetary Sciences, MIT, USA)
Klára Hlouchová (Univerzita Karlova, Czech Republic)
Juan Pérez Mercader (Harvard University, USA)
Koenraad Van den Driessche (Paseando en el
tiempo, Spain)