From Tuesday, March 4 to Wednesday, March 5, the Institute for Planetary Materials held the International Symposium 2025　MISASA VIII ‘’Future Planetary Exploration: Understanding of Planetary Surface Environments and Habitability‘’ at the Hotel ‘Blanc Art’ in Misasa, Tottori Prefecture jointly with J-PEAKS as an institute that plays an active role in the Advanced Institute for Advanced Studies system.

In this symposium, researchers from various fields related to planetary science shared their latest findings and exchanged insights, with the common goal of understanding extraterrestrial environments such as the Moon and the surface of Mars, and exploring the possibility of future long-term stays in such environments.

63 participants attended this symposium, including 16 postgraduate students from Japan and abroad. They engaged in lively discussions inspired by various cutting-edge research results obtained from the latest lunar and planetary exploration as well as laboratory experiments. These exchanges fostered fresh ideas on advancing ‘planetary surface environmental science’, —a core research focus of the Institute—and highlighted its growing significance in the context of increasingly active international planetary exploration efforts.

The symposium banquet (held on the first evening) began with a toast by Prof. Yasutomo Nasu, President of Okayama University. Ms. Miki Kimoto, Director of the Central Tottori Prefecture General Office, and Dr Hiroyuki Matsuura, Mayor of Misasa Town, also attended as guests of honor. The evening featured vibrant conversation and active networking among participants, following a full day of engaging academic sessions.