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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Whither the Weather? A Jet Stream Explainer
Jet streams are found in planetary atmospheres throughout our solar system. But what exactly are they?
Take a look inside the station's new expandable module with astronaut Jeff Williams
BEAM, the International Space Station's new expandable habitat module, is open for business. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka entered the module at 4:47 a.m. EDT (9:47 UTC) this morning.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Scuffs Up Signs of Past Water at Marathon Valley
Opportunity spent the first half of May digging into an outcrop, taking dozens of panoramic images from her site on the south wall of Marathon Valley at Endeavour Crater’s western rim, and basking in the Martian spring weather.
Follow a space shuttle tank through LA with this timelapse video
This timelapse video follows some of the space shuttle external tank's 19-hour journey from Marina del Rey to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
Announcing Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition
Announcing Planetary Radio Extra: Space Policy Edition (PRE:SPE for short)—a new spinoff of Planetary Radio that will delve into the weeds of space policy and politics.
What's up in the solar system, June 2016 edition: Juno approaches Jupiter
Your monthly roundup of the adventures of the 20+ robots exploring our solar system.
ExoMars Domino Effect
A difficult but necessary decision by ESA and Roskosmos to postpone the launch of the ExoMars rover from 2018 to 2020 raises a question about the fate of other planetary exploration programs in the pipelines of both space agencies.
BEAM expanded and pressurized: Your news, commentary and tweet roundup
BEAM is expanded and pressurized! The International Space Station's newest module, which will serve as a technology demonstrator for in-space expandable habitats, was fully filled with air this afternoon.
Three-peat! SpaceX sticks another drone ship landing
SpaceX continued its impressive string of first stage recoveries today, sticking a Falcon 9 drone ship landing during the successful launch of THAICOM 8, a communications satellite.
With retry scheduled tomorrow, NASA and Bigelow say BEAM will work—it's just a question of when
NASA will try again tomorrow to expand BEAM, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. During a press teleconference this afternoon, officials said they were confident the module was going to expand—it's just a question of when.
Lunar Farside Landing Plans
Phil Stooke describes a research trip to the Regional Planetary Image Facility at the USGS in Flagstaff, where he discovered Jack Schmitt's proposed plans for a farside landing site for Apollo 17.
Three bright planets: Portraits from the Pyrenees
It's a great time to go outdoors and look at planets. I have three glorious planetary portraits to share today, sent to me by amateur astronomer Jean-Luc Dauvergne.
Space station module expansion called off after BEAM doesn't budge
NASA and Bigelow Aerospace weren't able to get the space station's newest module up and running this morning. Another attempt could come as early as Friday.
New work with 35-year-old data: Voyagers at Ganymede and Saturn
The Voyager data set is a gift to Earth that keeps on giving. This week, I've seen three great new images processed from this old data set.
Tomorrow morning, watch a new space module inflate—er, expand
NASA is set to fill a new space station module called BEAM with air Thursday morning. But does BEAM inflate, or expand?
The House Makes its Counteroffer on NASA's Budget
Commerce, Justice, and Science—the House of Representatives’ subcommittee that oversees NASA spending—just released details on how they would fund the space agency in 2017. Overall, the news for the space program is very good.
Mostly smooth sailing in San Luis Obispo: LightSail 2 completes day-in-the-life test
The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft breezed through a major systems test today, demonstrating the CubeSat can successfully deploy its antenna and solar panels, communicate with the ground, and unfurl its 32-square-meter solar sails in space.
OSIRIS-REx shipped to Florida for September launch
OSIRIS-REx's long journey to an asteroid has begun. The spacecraft departed Colorado on Friday, May 20, travelling aboard an Air Force C-17 to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.
Shuttle tank caps 41-day journey with trip through streets of Los Angeles
After a 41-day journey marked by stormy seas, a trip through the Panama Canal and a rescue off the Baja California coast, the last unflown space shuttle external fuel tank has arrived at its new home here in Los Angeles.
On LightSail 1 launch anniversary, team prepares successor craft for day-in-the-life test
One year ago today, LightSail 1 rode an Atlas V rocket into space. Now, the program stands on the brink of another major milestone, as engineers prepare for a full systems test of LightSail 2, a successor CubeSat that will attempt the first controlled solar sail flight in low-Earth orbit.