Articles

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

Funpost! I do solemnly swear

A far-from-comprehensive look at the oath of office.

Introducing Space Advocacy 101

Space Advocacy 101 is a new online course to help space fans become empowered space advocates.

Pew pew! Lasers will help determine where LightSail 2 is

The International Laser Ranging Service, or ILRS, will lend its services to the LightSail 2 mission.

What kind of asteroid is Ryugu?

What do we already know about Ryugu, and why is it so hard to know what it looks like? Hayabusa2 Mission Manger Makoto Yoshikawa

Moon Monday: Prometheus

Happy Monday! Here's a picture of Prometheus. You may think it's a picture of Saturn. Look hard, toward the bottom, and you'll see Prometheus, doing its part to keep the F ring in line.

The OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule imaged by Stowcam on March 2, 2017

OSIRIS-REx shows us space isn't entirely empty

What a cool photo of OSIRIS-REx's sample return capsule! But wait, what's that black dot near the top?

Opportunity sol 5000 self-portrait, extended on sol 5006

The Opportunity selfie: 5000 Sols in the making

A personal story recounts how a NASA team used a microscopic imager to take a selfie of the Opportunity rover.

Funpost! Can you name a space vehicle for each letter of the alphabet?

There are NASA choices for all letters except Y and Z; for those two, you'll need to go international.

Recap: Breakthrough Discuss 2018

If you had a spaceship and could take it anywhere in the solar system to search for life, where would you go?

Space grade electronics: How NASA’s Juno survives near Jupiter

Take a look at how electronics of spacecraft are built to survive the harshness of space environments.

Curiosity Update, sols 1972-2026: Completing the Vera Rubin Ridge Walkabout

The Curiosity team has completed its initial survey of the top of Vera Rubin Ridge, and is ready to make another attempt at drilling after the rock at Lake Orcadie proved to be too hard.

Moon Monday: Deimos

Digging into the Viking archives to produce a new old composite of Mars' smaller moon.

Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: Hidden in Plain Sight

Award-winning astrophotographer Adam Block shares of his latest work.

Funpost! A funny thing happened on the way to the Moon

A few ripping good yarns from 1969. And a truly terrifying cartoon.

Diving into Juno JIRAM data archives

The Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument can obtain images in two infrared bands. JIRAM can see the nightside of Jupiter (including the winter pole) and takes spectacular animations.

The Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Presses On in Perseverance, Pace Picks Up

In the west rim of Endeavour Crater, Opportunity continued her exploration of Perseverance Valley in March.

Seeing InSight

Last week, I received a golden ticket that gave me rare access to a sacred space: the cleanroom facility where NASA's next Mars lander, InSight, is undergoing final preparations for launch.