Articles

The Downlink

Pluto, everyone’s favorite former planet, takes center stage in this week’s Downlink.

The Downlink

With new instruments and a growing number of discoveries, exoplanet and exomoon research is just getting started.

Bill Nye

Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye shares how the Society is responding to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world.

Casey Dreier

Join The Planetary Society and advocate for space in Washington, D.C. this 9 - 10 February 2020.

Andrew Jones

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft has touched down on Ryugu for a second time, bagging samples which hopefully contain material from the subsurface of the asteroid.

Justin Foley

LightSail 2 is launching on the next SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is one payload of many on the mission known collectively as STP-2. Space Test Program (STP) is a crucial part of the US Air Force’s development of advanced technologies in space.

Richard Chute

LightSail 2’s launch window opens on June 22, and we are finalizing plans for our launch viewing celebrations. Once we have finished coordinating the details with the Air Force’s STP-2 mission team and the Kennedy Space Center, we will share them with all of our members and backers so that you can join us in person or remotely via the internet.

Meg Schwamb

It’s time to give 2007 OR10 a name. We’re asking for your help to pick a suitable name for the largest as-yet-unnamed solar system world to submit to the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

MaryLiz Bender

On February 6, 2018, I found myself shoulder to shoulder with two of my heroes: Bill Nye on the left, Buzz Aldrin on the right. Our eyes were fixed on the first vertical Falcon Heavy rocket. Figuring the world's most powerful rocket might send me flying backwards once the countdown hit zero, I gripped the railing so tightly I started to lose the feeling in my fingertips.

Emily Lakdawalla

Attention Kiwi space fans! I’m embarking shortly on a speaking tour of New Zealand. I hope to meet lots of Planetary Society members and supporters, and sign a few copies of my book.

James Davenport

On December 10, Kepler—NASA’s prized exoplanet discovery telescope—will finally turn back and take a picture of the Earth.

Julie Seven Sage

Aspiring astrophysicist Julie Seven Sage reports from the launch of student-designed CubeSat payloads at NASA's Wallops Flight Center.

Harriet Brettle

Earlier this month, The Planetary Society brought together space enthusiasts at Queen Mary University of London for “SpaceUp London 2017”—the first large-scale event organized by Planetary Society volunteers in Europe.

Kate Howells

It’s an exciting time for Canada in space. It’s also an exciting time for Canadian space advocacy, as The Planetary Society's Global Community Outreach Manager Kate Howells describes.

Bill Nye

The Planetary Society is joining the March for Science. Bill Nye is serving as an honorary co-chair, and our organization is an official partner. Here's why we're marching, and how to join us.

Sara Jennings

The Science Line—a non-profit working to bridge the gap between science, technology and fashion by inspiring youth through STEM fashion shows, competitions, educational kits and hands-on workshops—hosted the first STEM Fashion Show in partnership with the Challenger Space Center of Arizona.

Emily Lakdawalla

Four years ago, I announced that I was writing a book about Curiosity, describing the mission from its inception through its nominal mission. I am still not done, so am taking a three-month break from other work -- including this blog -- in order to focus and finish. I'm seeking scientists and engineers to serve as guest bloggers.

Jim Bell

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.

Kate Howells

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.

Emily Lakdawalla

Whether or not you're attending San Diego Comic-Con, you can enjoy a discussion panel with Emily Lakdawalla and five science fiction authors about the future of science fiction in the context of today's amazing scientific advances.