The period for HWO25 abstract submission has been extended until Friday, February 21. Abstracts may be submitted through this form. Abstracts should be no longer than 1800 characters and should make a clear connection to NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory mission. A current HWO overview can be found in slides presented at the 2025 January AAS HWO special session. If you have questions, or need assistance, please reach out to HWO2025@stsci.edu. With over 700 expressions of interest, the response to the HWO25 Save-the-Date email has been tremendous, and we thank our many colleagues who have already submitted abstracts.

Abstracts are invited for oral and poster presentations on topics that reflect the full breadth of HWO's scientific and technological vision, which will transform astrophysics discovery, and address one of humanity's oldest questions "Are we alone?" We look forward to participation from scientists, engineers, industry leaders, and community stakeholders, whose contributions are all vital to build a strong foundation for the successful development of HWO. In particular, we encourage submissions from early-career community members, who are expected to be among the principal users of this future NASA flagship observatory and are crucial to ensuring continuity in our space exploration workforce.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Science

• Galaxy Growth: Intergalactic & Circumgalactic Medium, Active Galactic Nuclei & Black Holes
• Evolution of the Elements: Stars & Stellar Populations, Star Formation & Interstellar Medium, Cosmic Explosions
• Cosmology: Nature of Dark Matter & Dark Energy, Distance Scale, Hubble Tension
• Planetary Systems: Formation, Evolution, Architectures, Our Solar System, Exoplanet Demographics
• Search for Life: Target Stars & Systems, Biosignatures, Habitability

Technology

• Starlight Suppression: Contrast Technology & Methods
• Ultrastable Telescope and Observatory Technology
• Ultraviolet, Optical, & Near-Infrared Instrument Technologies: mirror coatings, gratings, detectors, spectroscopic multiplexing technologies
• Emerging Technologies: photonics, quantum sensing
• L2 Servicing technology and commercial synergies
• Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning for mission development, engineering, science research

Accepted presenters will be invited to contribute to the HWO25 conference proceedings, which will serve as the foundation for the first HWO Community Science Book.

For more conference information, please see Towards the Habitable Worlds Observatory: Visionary Science and Transformational Technology