This volume, number 16 in the Space Sciences Series of ISSI, reviews the present knowledgeonmanyaspectsofthehistoryofthesolarsystem. Itfocuses onisotopic signatures ofvolatile elements as tracers for the evolutionary processes during the formation of the Sun and the planets from an interstellar molecular cloud and, in tum, illuminates how the isotopic compositions of present-day solar system ob­ jects had been established. This integrated collection of articles complements the information provided by previous ISSI volumes such as From Dust to Terrestrial Planets and Chronology and Evolution of Mars, expanding the time scale for the history ofthe solar system. The convenors, Therese Encrenaz, Observatoire de Paris, Meudon; Johannes Geiss, ISSI, Bern; Reinald