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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Red Rover Goes to Mars, 20 years later
Twenty years ago, a Planetary Society program sent students to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to work on the Mars Exploration Rovers program.
The science value of Mars Sample Return
The project has the potential to transform our understanding of the Solar System and provide evidence of life beyond Earth.
Can SpaceX’s Starship save Mars Sample Return?
Though promising conceptually, Starship presents more questions than answers for NASA's Mars Sample Return needs.
The path forward for Mars Sample Return
A brief summary of The Planetary Society's policy principles and recommendations for Mars Sample Return.
The history and motivations behind India's growing space program
Gurbir Singh joined us on Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition to discuss the history and motivations behind India’s space program.
How layoffs at JPL can be traced to a stalemate in Congress
A battle over the future of Mars Sample Return is taking a toll on NASA’s workforce.
What to look forward to in space in 2024
A total solar eclipse and the launch of Europa Clipper are on our list of cosmic events to get excited about this year.
What went wrong with Mars Sample Return
An edited transcript of an interview with Orlando Figueroa, chair of the independent review team that evaluated NASA's Mars Sample Return program.
Uranus' biggest unsolved mysteries
Distant, icy Uranus has puzzled scientists for decades. From its sideways spin to its mysterious magnetic field, the oddball world has many secrets waiting to be revealed.
Why the true colors of the planets aren't what you think
Cameras on our space probes act as proxies for our own eyes, but what they see isn't necessarily what our eyes would see.
How do we see the surface of Venus from space?
Although Venus is shrouded in a thick atmosphere, several spacecraft have been able to image its surface from space. Future missions will expand and refine the maps we already have.
Looking for long waves
Why JWST observes in the infrared.
The best pictures of Mars from space
Spacecraft have been taking pictures of Mars from space since 1965. Here are some of our favorites.
Lucy’s flyby of Dinkinesh: Everything you need to know
On Nov. 1, 2023, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew past Dinkinesh, a small asteroid in the main belt, and discovered a binary pair of moonlets in orbit around the asteroid.
Why aren't there more close-up images of Uranus and Neptune?
There aren't many close-up, high-resolution images of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune. The reason comes down to distance.
Psyche mission successfully launches
The spacecraft has begun its six-year journey to the same-name metal world.
How do humans try to communicate with aliens?
SETI is the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, using various techniques to look for signals from advanced alien civilizations. METI (messaging extraterrestrial intelligence) is when we send out our own signals for aliens to find.
The future of Mars Sample Return
An overview of the 2023 Independent Review Board report on the state and future of Mars Sample Return.
The Psyche launch and its journey to a metal world: What to expect
The Psyche spacecraft is scheduled to blast off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Oct. 13.
The boy who named Bennu is now an aspiring astronaut
The Planetary Society spoke to Mike Puzio, who won our "Name that asteroid!" contest back in 2013.