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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Understanding why our most Earth-like neighbor, Venus, is so different
Van Kane introduces us to EnVision—a proposed European mission to help improve our understanding of Venus.
Leonard Nimoy: A Science Fan's Appreciation
Mat Kaplan pays a heartfelt tribute to a science fiction icon.
Highlights from our reddit Space Policy AMA
The space policy and advocacy team at The Planetary Society held an AMA (ask me anything) on reddit, here are some of the highlights.
Pluto Science, on the Surface
New Horizons' Principal Investigator Alan Stern gives an update on the mission's progress toward Pluto.
Russia Moves to Support ISS through 2024, Create New Space Station
The future of the International Space Station is a little clearer this week, following a statement from Russia supporting an extension of the orbiting complex through 2024.
At last, Ceres is a geological world
I've been resisting all urges to speculate on what kinds of geological features are present on Ceres, until now. Finally, Dawn has gotten close enough that the pictures it has returned show geology: bright spots, flat-floored craters, and enigmatic grooves.
Dawn Journal: Ceres' Deepening Mysteries
Even as we discover more about Ceres, some mysteries only deepen. Mission Director Marc Rayman gives an update on Dawn as it moves ever closer to its next target.
Clouds and Chasmata
New landscapes from Mars Express.
Spacewalk Timelapse Makes Cable Routing Look Fun
A timelapse video shows two NASA astronauts as they became typical neighborhood cable technicians—except for the fact that they were wearing space suits.
How LightSail Holds Its Place in Space
There are few systems aboard a spacecraft more important than attitude control. This infographic shows how LightSail holds its place in space.
Curiosity update, sols 864-895: Drilling at Pink Cliffs
Curiosity's second drilling campaign at the foot of Mount Sharp is complete. The rover spent about a month near Pink Cliffs, an area at the base of the Pahrump Hills outcrop, drilling and documenting a site named Mojave, where lighter-colored crystals were scattered through a very fine-grained rock.
Why We Write to Congress
It's time to write to Congress in support of planetary exploration. Why? Because it works.
Our Global Volunteers: February 2015 Update
The Planetary Society has amazing volunteers doing outreach work around the globe. Check out what they've been up to recently!
New Horizons spots Nix and Hydra circling Pluto and Charon
A series of images just sent to Earth from New Horizons clearly shows Pluto's moons Nix and Hydra orbiting the Pluto-Charon binary.
Mapping Europa
Several global maps have been made of Europa, but amateur image processor Björn Jónsson felt they could be improved—so he decided to make a new one.
Planetary CubeSats Begin to Come of Age
Van Kane rounds up some recent planetary mission concepts based on CubeSat technology.
An active comet, from a distance
Rosetta has closed to within 50 kilometers of Churyumov-Gerasimenko, on its way to a very close, 6-kilometer flyby of the comet tomorrow. To prepare for the flyby, Rosetta traveled much farther away, allowing it to snap these amazing photos of an increasingly active comet from a great distance.
A Fresh Approach to Fundraising
We want you to know that we’ve been listening to you. Members have highlighted the number of fundraising appeals from The Society, and we agree that the number of requests should be streamlined.
Cassini begins a year of icy moon encounters with a flyby of Rhea
At last! Cassini is orbiting in Saturn's ring plane again. I do enjoy the dramatic photographs of Saturn's open ring system that Cassini can get from an inclined orbit, and we won't be getting those again for another year. But with an orbit close to the ring plane, Cassini can repeatedly encounter Saturn's icy moons, and icy moon flybys are my favorite thing about the Cassini mission.
In Pictures: DSCOVR Headed for Deep Space
On Wednesday evening, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocketed into orbit with DSCOVR, the Deep Space Climate Observatory. Here's a photo and video roundup.