The First Billion Years

The First Billion Years

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The basic structures and compositions of our solar system were set during its First Billion Years — a time of planetary accretion and differentiation, intense impact bombardment, and the beginnings of habitable environments. To encourage transdisciplinary study of this formative era, the Lunar and Planetary Institute is excited to announce a new initiative: The First Billion Years.

The initiative’s core will be a coordinated series of topical conferences, 2017–2019, emphasizing fundamental processes during The First Billion Years: Accretion, Differentiation, Bombardment, and the Rise of Habitability. These conferences will include input from all relevant disciplines, provide venues for cross-fertilization of ideas across disciplinary boundaries, and facilitate major advances in our understanding of that seminal time. Beyond the conferences, we anticipate spinoffs of special sessions at other meetings, focused special publications, and topical workshops.

Topical Conference Schedule and Locations

Accretion: Building New Worlds
Conference Date: August 15–18, 2017
Location: LPI, Houston, Texas

Differentiation: Building the Internal Architecture of Planets
Conference Date: May 7–10, 2018
Location: Pasadena, California

Bombardment: Shaping Planetary Surfaces and Their Environments
Conference Date: September 30–October 3, 2018
Location: Flagstaff, Arizona

Habitability: Producing Conditions Conducive to Life
Conference Date: September 8–11, 2019
Location: Big Sky, Montana

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