Student Town Hall
Date: Sunday, Oct. 03 Time: 6:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 Central, 4:00 Mountain, 3:00 Pacific
Duration: 30 minutes
What: Join the DPS Student Representative and other DPS students to discuss how DPS can best serve you! Do you have questions about DPS and the DPS committee? Do you want to know who the student rep is and what they do? Would you like to request more from DPS or better understand the resources available? Come ask your questions and meet other students in DPS!

Sign up is required so that we can send you information/updates about the event. Please see more details and sign up. The deadline to sign up is right before the event (Sunday October 03 at 5:00 pm Eastern). The Zoom link for the event will be sent to all those who sign up and will also be posted on the detailed schedule for the DPS meeting (not the block schedule). Please do not post the event Zoom link in a public place. For any questions please contact Maya Yanez at [email protected].

Student and Early Career Reception
Date: Sunday, Oct. 03 Time: 6:30 pm Eastern, 5:30 Central, 4:30 Mountain, 3:30 Pacific
Duration: 30 minutes
What: Join us for a pre-conference networking and socializing where we will have the opportunity to meet people from our disciplines (and others!). We will have a general discussion of professional development topics and encourage students and early career scientists to take this opportunity to connect with others prior to the start of the conference! A huge thanks(!) to our generous sponsor Southwest Research Institute for supporting this event. Sign up is required so that we can send you information/updates about the event. Please see more details and sign up. The deadline to sign up is right before the event (Sunday October 03 at 5:30 pm Eastern). The gather.town link for the event will be sent to all those who sign up and will also be posted on the detailed schedule for the DPS meeting (not the block schedule). Please do not post the gather.town link in a public place. For any questions please contact Maya Yanez at [email protected].

Grad School Pavilion
Interested in applying to grad school? Come learn more about Planetary Science graduate programs at our Grad School Pavilion hours. This will be a chance to get to know some of the students and faculty from these programs and ask any questions you may have.

Opening and Closing Reception
Join us in our Gathertown space to socialize with your colleagues at our virtual receptions. Reconnect with old friends, and get to know new members of our community in this virtual environment. Bring your own drinks and snacks, without having to worry about the Venn Diagram of handshakes, finger food, and COVID safety!

Exhibitor Mixer and Giveaways
Come to the virtual Exhibit Hall in vFairs and Gathertown to meet with our exhibitors and learn more about the organizations that help make this meeting possible. Our Exhibitors will be running contests, with the opportunity to win gift cards, so make sure to visit them all to increase your chances of winning.

Science Chats
Following the success of last year’s Science Chats, we have expanded the number of opportunities for informal conversations as well as the range of topics that will be covered. In addition to topics aligned with the contributed research presentations, we will also be having discussion periods focusing on techniques common in planetary science, bringing together frequent practitioners with people interested in learning more, as well as sessions devoted to open ended questions in our field.

Women in Planetary Science Discussion Hour
Date: Monday, Oct. 04 Time: 5:00 pm Eastern, 4:00 Central, 3:00 Mountain, 2:00 Pacific
Duration: 1.5 hours (one hour event, ½ hour open networking time)
What: Join us for the annual Women in Planetary Science event, titled: "Lean in...into discomfort: the continual work of equity and justice". This year, the theme for this discussion-focused event will be our continued commitment to equity and justice in STEM. A huge thanks(!) to our generous sponsor AURA for supporting this event. Sign up is not required but it would be helpful for planning purposes and so that we can send you information/updates about the event. Please see more details and sign up. The Zoom link for the event will be sent to all those who sign up and will also be posted on the detailed schedule for the DPS meeting (not the block schedule). Please do not post the event Zoom link in a public place. For any questions contact Maggie McAdam ([email protected]) and Audrey Martin ([email protected])

LGBTQ+ Meetup
Since we can't meet up for our usual informal networking dinner, join us for an informal video chat to meet other LGBTQ+ DPS attendees! Give a shout-out to your poster or talk, ask questions about where to go to grad school or what jobs are hiring, or just chat about general topics. 

Agency Townhall
Join representatives from NASA and NSF via Zoom to hear about the latest news and to ask questions.

Scientists of Color Meetup
Come and network with fellow Planetary Scientists of Color at our annual DPS gathering. We will spend some time on introductions and discuss how we can support each other in the coming year. Email Cristina Thomas with questions: [email protected].

Decadal Survey Update
Join representatives from the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey via Zoom to hear about the latest news and to ask questions.

Open Mic Night
Open Mic Night will be held on Thursday, 7 October from 9:00 pm to midnight EDT. There will be about an hour of scheduled performances from your fellow planetary scientists, as well as time for walk-on slots that you can sign up for during the event. The event will be held in Gathertown with performances streamed in from Zoom, so you can mingle and watch the performances at the same time. When you enter the Gathertown room, you will see a welcome message with information about how to watch the performances and how to sign up if you want. You can also watch externally without entering Gathertown.

Sign up now! Email Joe Spitale ([email protected]) to get your name on the list.

Sagan Medal Winners: Adam Frank & Nicolle Zellner
The Carl Sagan Medal (“Sagan Medal”) recognizes and honors outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public. It is to be awarded to scientists whose efforts have significantly contributed to a public understanding of, and enthusiasm for, planetary science.