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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
The Biggest Little Asteroid Observatory
The Center for Solar System Studies, a perennial Planetary Society Shoemaker NEO Grant winner, is a small observatory that makes big contributions to near-Earth asteroid research.
Planetary Society Talks Europa, Planetary Defense, and Solar Sailing in Washington D.C.
Thanks to our members and donors, The Planetary Society participated in several activities at the 2019 International Astronautical Conference.
“I Talk to It Every Day”: Students are Vital Members of LightSail 2 Team
More than 50,000 people supported LightSail 2. But only one person can talk to the spacecraft at a time, and it's often a student.
NASA to Build New Asteroid-Hunting Space Telescope
The yet-to-be-named telescope would launch as soon as 2024, as part of NASA's new, multi-pronged approach to planetary defense.
Bill Nye, Planetary Society Staff Listen to LightSail 2 Signal
When LightSail 2 recently flew south of The Planetary Society's headquarters, CEO Bill Nye and other staff members stepped outside to listen.
Calling All Image Processors: Help Us Create a Top-Down View of LightSail 2
We've got 2 fish-eye pictures of the spacecraft's solar sail from opposite cameras, and we're hoping they can be combined.
Your Impact: September Equinox 2019
Your LightSail 2 spacecraft is in space, controlling its orbit solely on the power of sunlight.
LightSail 2 Marks 1 Month of Solar Sailing
LightSail 2's orbital high point around the Earth has raised by 7.2 kilometers, without any conventional fuel.
How to See LightSail 2 in the Night Sky
If your latitude is within 42 degrees of the equator, there's a chance you may be able to spot LightSail 2's reflective solar sail.
LightSail 2 Nears 2 Weeks of Solar Sailing
The high point of the spacecraft's orbit around the Earth on Monday was 729 kilometers, an increase of 3.2 kilometers since sail deployment.
LightSail 2 Spacecraft Successfully Demonstrates Flight by Light
In the past 4 days, the spacecraft has raised its orbital high point, or apogee, by about 2 kilometers.
LightSail 2 Successfully Deploys Solar Sail
Images from The Planetary Society's spacecraft confirm the solar sails deployed on 23 July 2019 at 11:47 PDT (18:47 UTC).
LightSail 2 Sail Deployment Scheduled for Tuesday
The target ground station pass for deployment starts 23 July 2019 at roughly 11:22 PDT (18:22 UTC).
Live Coverage: LightSail 2 Sail Deployment
Visit planetary.org/live for video and audio from mission control, located at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California.
LightSail 2 Team Continues Tweaks and Tests for Sail Deployment
Spare bandwidth during ground station passes has allowed flight controllers to downlink 2 new high-resolution images.
Planetary Society-funded Technology Picked by NASA for Possible Moon Flight
PlanetVac, a technology that simplifies the process of collecting samples from other worlds, may fly to the Moon.
LightSail 2 Team to Conduct More Testing before Sail Deployment
Sail deployment is now scheduled for no earlier than 21 July 2019.
Here are the First Pictures of Earth from LightSail 2
Pictures taken by the spacecraft's cameras Friday evening show a crescent Earth, as LightSail 2 heads into orbital sunset.
See the Latest Data from LightSail 2 on Our New Mission Control Dashboard
Would you like to see the latest data from The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft—possibly before flight controllers have even seen it? Now you can!
LightSail 2 Healthy as Mission Team Continues Spacecraft Checkouts
The mission team is working through a 73-step checklist to check out the spacecraft’s systems and perform various tests.