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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Sharing Space in Australia
The Planetary Society’s 2017 journey to Australia expanded our perspective, advocacy and global community. It was rich with reminders close to Carl Sagan’s heart: We are all connected through time, humankind, and our origins in the stars.
Mastcam-Z team blog: Preparing for five-hour operations
It takes hundreds of scientists and engineers many years to design and build just one instrument for a Mars mission. In the first Mastcam-Z team blog post, we'll talk about the special challenges we expect for Mars 2020 operations, and how we're planning to overcome them.
After Cassini, What’s Next for the Outer Planets?
The Planetary Society likes to look ahead, and in that spirit we organized a reception at the Library of Congress to bring scientists, legislators, and their staff together to honor Cassini and get excited about our future in the outer planets.
Here's how engineers closed out LightSail 2 for flight
The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft is in a flight-ready state, marking a major milestone for the program.
Is There Anybody out There?
The Planetary Society has supported SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, practically since our founding in 1980. Learn the past, present, and future of SETI.
Planetary Society-funded telescopes help find ring around Haumea, a distant dwarf planet
Haumea has a ring! Two telescopes used in the discovery—one in Slovenia, and one in Italy—received funding from The Planetary Society's Shoemaker Near Earth Object (NEO) Grant program, which helps amateur astronomers find, track and characterize near-Earth asteroids.
American R&D Policy and the Push for Small Planetary Missions at NASA
Planetary Society Policy Adviser Jason Callahan summarizes his paper he presented at the 2017 International Astronautical Congress in Australia, where he examined NASA's low-cost Discovery program and how federal policies directed at higher education initially bolstered planetary science into a viable field.
Space Policy & Advocacy Program Quarterly Report - October 2017
As a service to our members and to promote transparency, The Planetary Society's Space Policy and Advocacy team publishes quarterly reports on their activities, actions, priorities, and goals in service of their efforts to promote space science and exploration in Washington, D.C.
Doing SETI Better by Understanding Ourselves
One of the reasons SETI is hard is that we don’t know exactly what we are looking for, and part of that difficulty is that we still aren’t sure of who we are. An astronomer and an anthropologist team up to explore how cultural myopia shape what we can find in the cosmos.
Fall 2017 issue of The Planetary Report now available
The Fall 2017 issue of The Planetary Report is in the mail and available online now to our members!
NASA, international partners consider solar sail for Deep Space Gateway
A Canadian Space Agency proposal would install a solar sail on the outside of the Deep Space Gateway, a miniature space station in lunar orbit.
In Appreciation of Kim Poor
We at The Planetary Society are saddened to hear about the recent passing of veteran space artist Kim Poor.
Upward bound: Canada's Space Advisory Board provides its recommendations
Canada's Space Advisory Board has provided a clear set of recommendations to advance the country's space program, and The Planetary Society is proud to have played a role in the process.
Planetary Society hosts space policy reception at Australian Embassy
This year’s International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is being held in Adelaide, Australia. Thanks to the generous support of our members, The Society’s advocacy and outreach capability is rapidly expanding, and we decided to step up our IAC advocacy this year.
Voyager 40th anniversary: The Planetary Report's chronicles
In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Voyager missions, we're making publicly available seven back issues of The Planetary Report that chronicled the grand tour of the giant planets.
A good time for solar sailing: LightSail 2 finds itself among friends
Is the quest for flight by light approaching a tipping point? Representatives from the NEA Scout, CubeSail and StarChip missions discuss how their spacecraft are advancing the art of solar sailing.
A space advocate on Capitol Hill: Planetary Society intern shares story
Planetary Society intern Aaron Campbell recaps his experience working on Capitol Hill over the course of two summers.
The Senate Makes Its Move: Nearly $200M less for NASA in 2018
The proposed $19.5 billion would be less than the agency received in 2017, and substantially less than that proposed by the House for the coming year.
LightSail 2 updates: Prox-1 mission changes, new launch date
LightSail 2 and Prox-1 are expected to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy no earlier than April 30, 2018.
Space Policy and Advocacy Quarterly Update - July 2017
The Space Policy and Advocacy team has released its first in a series of regular program updates on our activities, actions, and priorities in our effort to promote space science and exploration in Washington, D.C.