Out-of-this-world astronauts (literally)

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is on its way back to Earth from the Moon. This week the spacecraft completed a “return burn,” whizzing about 127 kilometers (79 miles) above the lunar surface before harnessing the Moon’s gravity and accelerating back to Earth. It is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Dec. 11.

NEO Surveyor is a go! The asteroid-hunting space telescope will launch in 2028. NASA made a formal cost and schedule commitment to launch within the next five years at a cost of $1.2 billion. This is a major turn in fortunes for this project, which has suffered from NASA-directed cuts. Launching NEO Surveyor is a major advocacy priority for The Planetary Society to ensure humanity is prepared for the next threat from a near-Earth object.

A megatsunami may have swept over portions of Mars after a massive asteroid hit the red planet. Using images and data from various spacecraft, a new study suggests that a wave nearly 80 stories tall may have been created by an ancient oceanic impact on Mars by a 10-kilometer-wide (6-mile-wide) impactor, similar in size to the one that caused the mass extinction of dinosaurs here on Earth.

Who’s got perseverance? Perhaps it’s a student you know. NASA’s "You've Got Perseverance!" opportunity is for students who have demonstrated perseverance in their academic pursuits. Teachers, educators, and community leaders are encouraged to nominate students. Selected students will receive a special message sent directly from the Perseverance rover on Mars!

Astronaut and Planetary Society board member John Grunsfeld didn’t just ride the Space Shuttle into orbit five times. He accumulated two-and-a-half days of spacewalk time as he worked on the Hubble Space Telescope, famously becoming the “Hubble Repairman.” This week he returns to Planetary Radio for a very personal conversation with Mat Kaplan. Image: NASA

Why did the United States send humans to the Moon — and why did the nation pull back after landing only six times? We break it all down for you in A Political History of Apollo, a special edition podcast series. Host Casey Dreier, our chief advocate and senior space policy adviser, engages some of the world's leading space experts and goes beyond flags and footprints to uncover the politics behind the defining program of the space age.

ICYMI: The Best of 2022 results are in! More than 3,000 votes were cast this year, with stunning images by JWST, the impact of Dimporphos by the DART mission, and our own LightSail 2 taking top places. Be sure to check out all the Best of 2022 winners and see if your picks made the cut.