We’re Building a Movement!

Today we launch a new expedition to engage our members in more ways than ever before. Since our inception, our members have supported The Planetary Society as we forge new paths in space science and exploration. You have always been at the center of our success and we want the structure of our membership program to reflect that by offering new benefits, premiums, and payment options.

The Society’s universe continues to expand as more and more citizens look to us as their place in space. With members all around the world, we’re uniting the broader scientific community through numerous ongoing projects. We’re pushing ahead with LightSail™ after our successful test launch last year. We’re working alongside HoneyBee Robotics to develop and test both Planet Vac and Planetary Deep Drill. We’re developing educational resources for students, inspiring the next generations of scientists to continue the important work of space exploration.

Our members—the extraordinary philanthropic community behind the education, advocacy, and technology projects at the Society—are the realization of our mission: empowered citizens advancing space science and exploration. If you’re already a member, we thank you. We’re delighted to have you onboard. If you’re not yet a member, we urge you to check out our new membership program levels and the various benefits associated with each. It’d be an honor for you to join us on our mission and become a part of something so much greater than you, me, or our planet—we’re headed to Mars and beyond.

We’re combining our current categories, Basic Membership, the Discovery Team, and the New Millennium Committee, into a single program. Inspired by a few of the great missions to explore our solar system— like Curiosity, Explorer, and Pathfinder—the names of our new membership levels celebrate the explorer inside all of us. We curated a stellar set of benefits and premiums to enhance your connection with The Society and our shared desire to know the cosmos and our place within it.

To support the changes in the membership structure, some of our rates are changing as well. Notably, we streamlined our rates so international members pay the same amount as our U.S. members. We also created a Classic Membership category exclusively for our current U.S. and Canadian members who love what they already have and simply want to stay the course. Members who select this option will continue to receive The Planetary Report and have access to special members-only benefits and information, but will need to upgrade to the Explorer level to obtain new and increased benefits (such as our new t-shirt!).  We’re continuing our special lower rates for students who are invited to join the Curiosity Team. Likewise, educators and seniors will be offered special lower rates. We expanded the popular monthly payment opportunity to almost every level; if you are a current Discovery Team member, we'll continue your sustaining support at the new level that matches your current monthly payment. And for those who have multi-year memberships (typically 2- and 3-year memberships), we will honor those memberships until their scheduled renewal date.

Along with our upgraded membership program, you’ll notice our website undergoing significant renovation. Our membership pages will reflect our new style—seamless integration, prioritizing user experience, all mobile-optimized. Look for these changes across the entire website in the near future. We’re sailing into a new era and so is our technology. We welcome you on board with us.

Let’s keep working together to understand our place in space!