planetary.org

  • Solar maximum = maximum awe
    on October 18, 2024 at 2:30 pm

    With the Sun at the peak of its activity cycle, we Earthlings get treated to some awesome sights. Plus, some truly awe-inspiring launches happened this week.

  • Upgrade for Member Services System
    on October 16, 2024 at 5:41 pm

    The Planetary Society is upgrading systems that will offer us many new capabilities and features that will enhance your membership experience.

  • Europa Clipper launches on its journey to Jupiter’s icy moon
    on October 14, 2024 at 7:00 am

    NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft launched today aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

  • Twinsies!
    on October 11, 2024 at 2:30 pm

    Asteroids that come in pairs, matching volcanic features on Mars and Earth, and the potential space policies of two administrations.

  • Hera launches to study the aftermath of an asteroid deflection test
    on October 7, 2024 at 2:58 pm

    The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft launched on Oct. 7, 2024, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It will travel to the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system […]

  • Glitter and glow
    on October 4, 2024 at 2:30 pm

    This week we look forward to launches, gaze at glowing auroras, and get creative with glitter.

  • Europa Clipper: A mission backed by advocates
    on October 1, 2024 at 2:00 pm

    Europa Clipper will soon head for Jupiter's icy, potentially habitable moon. Without the advocacy efforts of The Planetary Society and our members, the mission […]

  • Cloudy skies, smooth sailing
    on September 27, 2024 at 2:30 pm

    A Martian cloud atlas, LightSail wins big, and multiple missions coast toward launch.

  • How to spot Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas
    on September 26, 2024 at 4:44 pm

    Catch this once-in-a-lifetime comet over the next few days.

  • The Hera launch: What to expect
    on September 26, 2024 at 2:00 pm

    The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing to launch a mission to study the aftermath of DART's impact on the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos.

  • Could Europa Clipper find life?
    on September 25, 2024 at 2:00 pm

    For a mission that doesn’t aim to find alien life, Europa Clipper may come surprisingly close.

  • Where Congress Stands on NASA's 2025 budget
    on September 20, 2024 at 2:30 pm

    Weeks before the new fiscal year, Congress still hasn't finalized NASA's 2025 budget.

  • Spacecraft, what do your robot eyes see?
    on September 20, 2024 at 2:30 pm

    Cameras on spacecraft are our eyes into the Cosmos. Sometimes they teach us things, sometimes they reveal gaps in our knowledge.

  • The Europa Clipper launch: What to expect
    on September 19, 2024 at 2:00 pm

    NASA is preparing to launch its flagship mission to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa. Launching sometime in October 2024 and arriving in 2030, the mission will […]

  • Someone’s aliens
    on September 13, 2024 at 2:30 pm

    Life thrives on Earth, and we even send evidence of our presence out into the Solar System. Is anyone out there looking for us?

  • New insights into asteroid properties: A STEP Grant update
    on September 13, 2024 at 2:00 pm

    A Planetary Society-funded project to understand asteroids achieved its main goals and scientific objectives this year.

  • Earthlings as aliens
    on September 9, 2024 at 1:57 pm

    Looking at life on Earth from another perspective.

  • Connecting ancient life to other worlds
    on September 9, 2024 at 1:57 pm

    Looking to the past to guide the search for life.

  • Extraterrestrial artifacts
    on September 9, 2024 at 1:56 pm

    Could the Solar System host traces of other intelligent life?

  • Your impact: September equinox 2024
    on September 9, 2024 at 1:56 pm

    Exploring Europa and defending Earth.

  • Inside, underneath, backward, upside-down
    on September 6, 2024 at 2:30 pm

    From holes on Mars to a spun-around moon and a flipped reflection, space science involves looking at things from all different angles.

  • The Tianlin Space Telescope
    on September 5, 2024 at 2:00 pm

    China is in the early stages of planning a huge space observatory to help answer the matter of whether we are alone in the galaxy.

  • Explore the Cosmos with The Planetary Society and Lerner Publishing
    on August 30, 2024 at 3:56 pm

    The Planetary Society and Lerner Publishing Group have teamed up to bring young readers an engaging series of books that make space science fun and accessible.

  • Why the “habitable zone” doesn’t always mean habitable
    on August 30, 2024 at 3:03 pm

    The habitable zone is a useful concept in astrobiology, but it can sometimes paint an over-simplified picture of planetary habitability.

  • Super-size it
    on August 30, 2024 at 2:30 pm

    Europa Clipper is a big spacecraft with big solar panels, all so it can perform a big mission. The galaxy is big too, and a Planetary Society member painted it […]