On behalf of its Scientific Organizing Committee, I would like to distribute the first annoucement of "Astrobiology 2017", held between November 26th and December 1st in Coyhaique, Chile.

Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary subject at the frontier of science. Current research in astrobiology draws researchers from the fields of astronomy, space science, chemistry, biology, geology, humanities, sociology and ethical issues.

Many astronomers in the subfields of star formation, solar system studies, astrochemistry and others, tend to gather around Astrobiology. Science goals of new generation telescopes such as ALMA, SKA, TMT, GMT, E-ELT include search for prebiotic molecules, and detection of bio-signatures in the ever growing sample of extrasolar planets, many of which reside in the habitable zones. Even dedicated flagship space missions have been commissioned, such as the wildly successful Kepler mission, which alone has discovered about 2,000 extrasolar planets, or the soon to be launched TESS and CHEOPS missions.

The IAU Commission F.3 (Astrobiology) will meet again in the beautiful town, Coyhaique, Chile in November, 2017. This key meeting fosters interdisciplinary collaborations for the advancement of Astrobiology, welcoming researchers from disciplines as diverse as astrophysics, biology, geology, humanities, and sociology, among others.

Those who are interested in Astrobiology 2017 are kindly requested to keep your schedule !

With best regards,

Masatoshi Ohishi, vice president of Comm. F.3