This year, the conference will be held in Toulouse (France).
All informations: http://www.planetaryprobe.eu/IPPW9/
Full Version: International Planetary Probe Workshop 9
that's where I live! now, who wants to give me some 500 euros?
Same for me!
I had a similar experience last year: a professional astronomy conference in my neighbourhood (a rare event) but with prohibitively high entry charges. I'd like to see some provision, indeed encouragement, for interested members of the public to attend these events as spectators, preferably free.
I will be there. Hope to see a bunch of interesting presentations. 
Previous editions were worth the trip as well.
Previous editions were worth the trip as well.
How interesting is it to go to this kind of conference if you're an enthusiast but not actively working in the field?
Toulouse isn't far away and I can take a week of holiday to visit, but if the conference consists mostly of budget-planning meetings and cross-products reports of how eleven groups have achieved against fifteen metrics (I have heard some truly dreadful tales from my boss about EU major-project progress meetings in the past) then it's not going to be the best way to spend 500 euros.
I suppose I gatecrashed the IAU meeting in Sydney a decade ago and found it absolutely fascinating.
Toulouse isn't far away and I can take a week of holiday to visit, but if the conference consists mostly of budget-planning meetings and cross-products reports of how eleven groups have achieved against fifteen metrics (I have heard some truly dreadful tales from my boss about EU major-project progress meetings in the past) then it's not going to be the best way to spend 500 euros.
I suppose I gatecrashed the IAU meeting in Sydney a decade ago and found it absolutely fascinating.
I personally find dit much more interesting from a purely technical point of view than other big conferences, such as the IAC.
It's just a personnal feeling, but I feel it much less political than many space conferences.
It's just a personnal feeling, but I feel it much less political than many space conferences.
This is next week, and the program is now public: http://www.planetaryprobe.eu/IPPW9/files/IPPW9-Sched.pdf
Some presentations should be interesting, such as this one on the feasability of sending probes into the Uranus/Neptune atmopsheres.
Some presentations should be interesting, such as this one on the feasability of sending probes into the Uranus/Neptune atmopsheres.
QUOTE
I had a similar experience last year: a professional astronomy conference in my neighbourhood (a rare event) but with prohibitively high entry charges. I'd like to see some provision, indeed encouragement, for interested members of the public to attend these events as spectators, preferably free.
In my experience of conferences, no-one will notice if you haven't paid the fees; just wander in and sit quietly at the back. Of course if you intend to do it properly (schmoozing, asking incisive questions, eating the sandwiches, etc.), you should pay!
QUOTE (The Singing Badger @ Jun 17 2012, 06:07 PM) 
In my experience of conferences, no-one will notice if you haven't paid the fees; just wander in and sit quietly at the back. Of course if you intend to do it properly (schmoozing, asking incisive questions, eating the sandwiches, etc.), you should pay!
They'll notice this time. You need a badge to enter the campus, and the guards check.
We're told that the presentations won't be available to the attendees for a month or more. So if you're interested, look around or ask in August.
Yep, some of them were quiet interesting, I really would like to read them again (or watch if they will put the videos some have presented as well).
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.