At the 2024 annual meeting of the ASROC (the Astronomical Society of the Republic of China), Deputy Director T.-C. Kuo of TASA (Taiwan Space Agency) gave an exciting talk describing the future of TASA and its challenges and opportunities, which raised enormous interest from the astronomical community. In the same meeting, TSU (Taiwan Space Union) representative, Prof. Wing Ip, held an extended discussion session on the drafting of the white paper on the decadal planning of Taiwan’s space program 「十年太空調查白皮書」.

Inspired by this vibrant development of Taiwan’s space science, the Center of Astronomy and Gravitation (CAG) of the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) is determined not to be absent from the grand roadmap of Taiwan’s space program. With the university’s full support, we decided to hold a workshop on Geospace and Solar System Exploration – Mission Concept, Design, Development, and Deployment as the first step.

The workshop will focus on space mission initiatives, planning, and sciences. The workshop will consist of two main parts: missions and science. In the space mission part, the workshop will cover

• • Geospace exploration
  • Earth orbital missions
  • Near-Earth missions
  • Inner Solar-System missions
  • Interplanetary missions
  • Deep Space missions

In the space science and astronomy part, the workshop will include

• • Protoplanetary disks
  • Comets and asteroids
  • Beyond Solar System: Young Stellar Objects and ISM

Oral and poster presentations both are welcome. Oral presentations include both invited and contributed talks. Plenary talks given by leading scientists in Solar System exploration are invited, including:

• • Prof. Wing Ip (NCU) on “The Distant Past and Far Future of the Saturnian System”
  • Dr. Jason Dworkin (NASA/GSFC) on “OSIRIS-REx Returned a Piece of the Early Solar System”
  • Dr. Robert Pappalardo (NASA/JPL) on “Europa Clipper Science and Mission Overview”
  • Dr. Steven Charnley (NASA/GSFC) on “Science Drivers for Cometary Sample Return”

The workshop will be held from February 10 to 12 (Monday to Wednesday) in 2025 on the Gongguan campus of NTNU in Taipei City, Taiwan. The meeting venue’s capacity limits registration to 60 participants at a maximum. The event is aimed at research scientists, engineers, and academic faculty. Early career scientists and graduate students are also eligible to enroll.

A registration fee of US$250 is required for overseas participants, NT$3,000 for local participants, and NT$1,500 for students. Registration fees are waived for all invited speakers. Registration fees are also waived for student volunteers (please check with the Organizing Committee first). A welcome reception on Day 1 and the workshop banquet on Day 2, plus coffee/tea/snacks for breaks and lunches for all three days, are included in the registration. Please pay cash in NT dollars at the on-site registration desk on the 1st day of the workshop. We do NOT accept checks and credit cards. Note that you will receive a receipt with your institution’s tax ID (統編) if you provide this information on the registration form.