Timeless collections

Bennu samples may contain a mix of the ingredients for life. The first in-depth analyses of the asteroid material collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample return mission suggest that Bennu contains amino acids, nucleobases, and other key building blocks of life as we know it. If the conditions necessary for the emergence of life were widespread across the early Solar System, this could mean that life may be more likely to have formed elsewhere as well. Pictured: Project scientist Jason Dworkin holds up a vial containing part of the sample from asteroid Bennu. Image credit: NASA/James Tralie.

Blue Ghost is keeping busy on its way to the Moon. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost mission, which is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, is midway through its 45-day transit to the Moon. As it travels, it is conducting science operations and observations, including recording footage of Earth eclipsing the Sun.

A newly discovered exoplanet moves in and out of its star’s habitable zone. HD 20794d is a super-Earth with an elliptical orbit that appears to take it farther from its star than Mars is from the Sun and then as close as Venus. This brings it in and out of the region where liquid water would be possible on the planet’s surface, providing a potentially interesting study of the limits of planetary habitability.

BepiColombo recorded sound as it flew past Mercury. The European Space Agency spacecraft recently made its sixth and final flyby of Mercury, using the planet’s gravity to adjust its trajectory. BepiColombo captured audio of vibrations in the spacecraft, which changed as it passed into Mercury’s shadow and closer to its gravitational field.

Juno has spotted Io’s most powerful volcanic activity yet. NASA’s Jupiter orbiter recently discovered a volcanic hot spot in the southern hemisphere of the Jovian moon. Io is already known as the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, and this new discovery makes the little moon all the more extreme — the hot spot is larger than Earth’s Lake Superior and has eruptions that yield six times as much energy as all the world’s power plants combined.

An asteroid has a tiny chance of hitting Earth in 2032. The European Space Agency’s Planetary Defense Office reported this week that the recently discovered near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 is predicted to pass close by Earth on Dec. 22, 2032. While the asteroid has an almost 99% chance of safely passing our planet, scientists say that they can’t yet entirely rule out a possible impact and are continuing to monitor the asteroid’s trajectory. Learn more about the asteroid and what this threat level means.

Some journeys are meant to be remembered forever. The twin Voyager spacecraft’s journeys through the outer Solar System were truly extraordinary, and a new installation at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory honors the mission and the man who led its science team. This week’s episode of Planetary Radio takes listeners along the Dr. Edward Stone Voyager Exploration trail, reflecting on his legacy and the spacecraft that continue to push the boundaries of exploration. Pictured: Plaques along the trail that approximately trace the trajectories of the Voyager spacecraft and share facts about the mission and Ed Stone. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

If you’re a Planetary Society member, you have a direct role in exploration. Throughout our 45-year history, The Planetary Society has actively contributed to more than 20 space exploration missions. On top of that, we’ve run our own missions and have conducted outreach for dozens more. Check out the highlights from 45 years of exploration.

Louis Friedman co-founded The Planetary Society with a vision for what we could do. Our co-founder joined the latest Planetary People virtual event to talk about the origin of The Planetary Society, the achievements he is most proud of, and why our mission remains as important as ever.

Next up in our virtual book club: “Is Anyone Listening?” On Feb. 3, Planetary Society book club members can join a live virtual Q&A with Denise L. Herzing, author of a new book that explores dolphin communication and connects it to groundbreaking work on animal languages and even SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence). The book club is exclusive to Planetary Society members.