Articles

Emily Lakdawalla

This morning while driving to work I heard a terrific story about Curiosity on National Public Radio from Joe Palca, NPR's science correspondent. It was a great story despite the fact that it contained virtually no news. The nugget of non-news is that SAM's analysis of Mars soil has yielded some unspecified, exciting, but not-yet-confirmed result. But that's not really what Palca's story is about.

Emily Lakdawalla

When Casey invited me to participate in last Friday's

Mat Kaplan

On the evening of November 9, which would have been Carl Sagan's 78th birthday, the Planetary Society brought together some of his best friends to share their memories. We were also joined by four young scientists whose career choices were influenced by Carl.

Mat Kaplan

The Planetary Society has invited a few friends of Carl Sagan's to a celebration of his birth and his legacy. Watch the live webcast featuring physicist Kip Thorne, Contact Executive Producer Lynda Obst and much more!

Jason Davis

Two short videos produced by Jason Davis on astronomy and planetary science work taking place at the University of Arizona.

Daniel Fischer

Space blogger Daniel Fischer writes about the problem of composited astrophotos being distributed through social media channels by people unaware that they are artworks, not documentary photographs.

Mat Kaplan

Planetary Radio went on the air ten years ago. It's almost time to celebrate this anniversary with a special episode for the week of November 12, 2012. Learn more, including how you can join the party.

Andrew Chaikin

Chaikin interviews Mars scientist Nathalie Cabrol who talks about her passion for exploration and urges America to explore even in tough economic times.

Scott Maxwell

Mars rover driver Scott Maxwell relates a story of how he handed Ray Bradbury an opportunity to drive on Mars.

Andrea Carroll

Videos capture a conversation between Armstrong and CPA Alex Malley. He speaks in detail about his lunar landing; he talks about our future in space. He holds no punches, and pushes for an innovative future in space

Emily Lakdawalla

How to enjoy a solar eclipse with your kids, making shadow magic with a pinhole viewer.

Ben Cooper

After 12 years of photographing the space shuttle, and even getting to work for NASA as a photographer for the final three years of the program, I never had the privilege of going inside the cockpit until the program was over.

Matt Siegler

After NASA Night at the 2012 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas, a group of young scientists (most of us just out of graduate school) met to discuss what we could do both in the near and far term to revive NASA's ability to continue the flagship mission program we would all like to see in our future.

Matthew Chojnacki

The President's proposed 2013 NASA budget calls for deep cuts to the nation's very successful planetary science program. These cuts not only threaten the future of planetary science, but also impact our ability to conduct deep space missions. As the next generation of planetary scientists, the graduate student community is deeply concerned about the ramifications of these budget cuts, and we must voice our concerns to policymakers in Washington, D.C.

Charlene Anderson

NASA's Mars science exploration budget is being decimated, we are not going back to the Moon, and plans for astronauts to visit Mars are delayed until the 2030s -- on funding not yet allocated, overseen by a congress and president to be named later.

Emily Lakdawalla

A recap of the

Neil Patrick Stewart

The International Dark Sky Association designated Big Bend as an International Dark Sky Park, confirming its status as an incredible place to stargaze.

Bruce Betts

We explore space for the noblest goals of science and exploration, and we often persevere in spite of challenges. But space exploration is fraught with bad things happening, or, to use the technical term, ouchies. The Planetary Society's Phobos LIFE biomodule will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere in the next few days with the rest of the Phobos-Grunt mission.

Emily Lakdawalla

Emily wakes up her 5-year-old daughter to experience her first lunar eclipse.

Mat Kaplan

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast celebrated Carl Sagan's birthday yesterday by reposting my conversation with Ann Druyan, Sagan's Co-creator and life-partner. Links inside.