Articles

Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.

NASA’s Artemis I mission has successfully launched

Despite several setbacks and delays, NASA's Artemis I mission successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022.

Meet The Planetary Academy

Our lifetime love of space exploration can start when we are very young. And so, we have developed The Planetary Academy, a 100% space-related membership created for kids 9 years old and younger.

LightSail 2 image of Gulf of Aden and Red Sea

LightSail 2 is about to burn up

After 3.5 years, 18,000 orbits of the Earth, and 8 million kilometers (5 million miles) traveled, The Planetary Society’s successful LightSail 2 solar sail spacecraft will burn up as it reenters the Earth’s atmosphere in the next few days.

Artemis I launch guide: What to expect

NASA's Space Launch System rocket is sending the Orion crew capsule to the Moon and back.

Two pale blue dots

Reflecting on Carl Sagan’s influence on this pale blue dot we call Earth.

VOICE: Will this Chinese candidate mission to Venus fly?

Inside the Venus Volcano Imaging and Climate Explorer (VOICE) proposal, which appears to be gaining momentum.

A year in review and a reddish hue

Get ready for a total lunar eclipse and pick your favorites from this year in space.

Best space pictures of the month: October 2022

Stunning views of Europa and the Eagle Nebula headline our roundup of space images released last month.

Creepy Cosmos! Scary space! Petrifying planets!

An especially spooky Halloween edition of The Downlink.

Planetary Radio has a new host

After 20 years at the helm, our friend and colleague Mat Kaplan is retiring as the host of Planetary Radio. The good news is the show will be in excellent hands after Mat’s departure. We can finally announce Planetary Radio’s new host is Sarah Al-Ahmed.

Your guide to water on Mars

Mars used to have oceans, lakes, and rivers. Where did the water go, how much is left, and how can we use it for science and exploration?

New wonders to behold

New stars are being born, new missions are being conceived, and new discoveries are being made all the time.

The live space feeds you should be following right now

Here are some livestreams to save so you can watch rocket launch feeds, space station broadcasts off-Earth, and other space-related activities in real-time.

Good omens

The future is looking brighter thanks to a proven asteroid deflection technique and an array of visionary ideas for space exploration innovation.

The Space Advocate Newsletter, October 2022

Will a SETI signal unite or divide us?

NASA says DART's asteroid impact was a huge success

On Tuesday, Oct. 11, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced that early observations indicate NASA's DART mission successfully moved asteroid moonlet Dimorphos.

How JWST will reveal our Solar System beyond Neptune

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will soon give us valuable data on the dozens of distant objects found beyond the orbit of Neptune in a region known as the Kuiper belt.