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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Old documents shine new light on NASA's plan to send a solar sail to Halley's Comet
The Planetary Society's LightSail project has roots in a late-1970s NASA plan to send a giant solar sail spacecraft to Halley's Comet. Now, a cache of archival documents adds new depth to the audacious plan.
Our asteroid hunters are trying to save the world. Here’s what they’ve been up to
Here are some recent reports from our NEO Shoemaker Grant program asteroid observers, who are quite literally trying to save the world.
Signed, sealed but not delivered: LightSail 2 awaits ship date
Following a pre-ship review at Planetary Society headquarters, LightSail 2 is ready to be integrated with its Prox-1 partner spacecraft. The final shipping schedule, however, has yet to be determined.
Solar sailing in Japan: 10 questions for LightSail engineer Barbara Plante
Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye and LightSail systems engineer Barbara Plante recently traveled to Japan for a solar sailing symposium. Our Q&A with Plante discusses everything from CubeSat attitude control systems to robotic giraffes in Tokyo.
See LightSail at the London Science Museum
The London Science Museum, one of the world’s leading science centers, has welcomed our citizen-funded spacecraft into its halls.
Want to build on our LightSail work? Here are some resources to get started
The Planetary Society is launching a new webpage showcasing LightSail academic papers, schematics, parts and imagery.
Ground finale? Deployment test moves LightSail 2 closer to handoff
LightSail 2 successfully demonstrated all of its critical functions during what may have been the CubeSat's final end-to-end systems test at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Alan Stern & New Horizons Team Receive Cosmos Award
Alan Stern and the New Horizons mission team are the newest recipients of The Planetary Society's Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science.
LightSail 2 update roundup: Testing, delivery and a new animation in the works
LightSail 2 and Prox-1 are expected to meet for integration by the end of the year. Here's an update roundup, including a sneak peek of new animations and the abstract from a recently accepted paper on the spacecraft's attitude control system.
Back to school: LightSail 2 and Prox-1 provide unique experience for university students
From Cal Poly to Georgia Tech, university students working on SmallSat projects gain critical real-world spaceflight experience, preparing them for promising careers in the space industry.
We’re building the STEAM Team!
We know, as well as you do, that if we want to see a great future – one where humans explore, understand, and benefit from space – we need to invest right now in the people who will be leading the way. To empower the world’s youth, we need to educate them. And to educate them, we need to inspire them.
Mars 2020 rover rolls into final design and fabrication phase
NASA's next Mars rover is rolling off the drawing board and into its final design and fabrication phase, the agency announced today, during a televised event at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that highlighted some of the mission's technology.
Listen Up! Microphones to Fly to Mars
The Mars 2020 mission will carry microphones in its EDL package and its SuperCam instrument, which will enable us to finally hear the sounds of Mars. The Planetary Society has been trying to get microphones to Mars for 20 years and is ecstatic that these will fly.
Videos and updates: LightSail 2 shows off magnetic personality
It's been a few weeks since LightSail 2 passed its day-in-the-life test at Cal Poly. Here's a roundup of updates that were made in response to the test results, and a look at the project's next steps.
LightSail 2 will transmit Morse code from space, and you can make the sound your ringtone
The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft will identify itself from orbit using Morse code, and you can make the sound your ringtone.
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.
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.
Planetary Society solar sails paved way for Alpha Centauri starshot
A new initiative to send a fleet of tiny spacecraft to Alpha Centauri is connected to The Planetary Society through its founders and efforts to advance solar sailing technology.
Atmospheric Waves Awareness: An Explainer
There are two types of atmospheric waves that are critically important on Earth and other planets: gravity waves and planetary waves.
LightSail 2 engineers continue to test for success
It's been a busy two months of system testing for The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft. More trials are on the horizon, including a trip to a special magnetic cage at Utah State University's Space Dynamics Laboratory.