Space for Everyone

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​SPACE ​FOR ​EVERYONE

SPACE FOR EVERYONE

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK 2019–2024
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PEOPLE. PASSION. PLANETS.

You’re an explorer. You come from a long line of explorers. Together, we are a community of explorers.

Our ancestors – your ancestors – were the humans who ventured far from home, climbed over the next hill, and sailed beyond the horizon. That’s why you’re with The Planetary Society. Together, we are advancing space exploration. Together, we are more influential and more powerful than any one individual can be. Together, we are shaping humankind’s future in space.

We call this strategic framework Space for Everyone. It’s our commitment to you, the explorer. In it we outline our priorities for organizational decision making through 2024 and beyond. In the coming months and years, you can expect more opportunities to participate in the great adventure of space. If we search for and discover life on another world, if we deflect a streaking asteroid before it impacts Earth, if we find out more about our origin and place among the stars, it will not be one individual that makes these things happen. It will be a society of people who believe that space exploration is a worthy use of our intellect and treasure. By harnessing our collective passion, we can change the course of history.

Your passion and support for the mission of The Planetary Society will ensure the organization continues to develop and thrive, maintaining the momentum we’ve built over the last few years. We believe that space exploration is for everyone, and my colleagues and I work each and every (Earth) day to find ways to connect and involve more of you. We also work to ensure that The Planetary Society is an open, welcoming community with space for everyone who has a passion or interest in worlds beyond Earth.

I claim that the spirit of exploration is deep within us. You, like the explorers before you, feel joy and excitement in exploring the unknown, and delight in discovery. I’m honored to be your CEO as we make this journey together. Together, dare I say it, we can change the worlds.

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BILL NYE
Chief Executive Officer
The Planetary Society

VISION

KNOW THE COSMOS

and our place within it

JPL-Caltech, SwRI, and MSSS provided the JunoCam instrument to NASA’s Juno mission to take photos for the public. The JunoCam team worked with Planetary Society staff to engage the international image processing community, including Seán Doran and Planetary Society member Gerald Eichstädt, who processed this photo of Jupiter’s northern latitudes.

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MISSION

Empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration

VALUES

PASSION

We are fervent supporters of space exploration. We deliver our very best in all we do to advance our mission, and we hold ourselves accountable for results.

CREDIBILITY

We are an honest broker of information and a trusted steward of resources. Our stakeholders trust us.

OPTIMISM

We bring a positive outlook and attitude to all that we do. Our work is visionary, solution seeking, and empowering.

INTEGRITY

We conduct our work in accordance with the highest standards of professional behavior and scientific principles.

EFFECTIVENESS

Our work produces intended results. We know our strengths and how to leverage them.

INCLUSION

Our community is strengthened by its diversity of talents and perspectives. We foster mutual respect and a sense of belonging for all people in our work.

OUR APPROACH

WE BELIEVE

That the future of space exploration depends on public support and participation.

Data for this image came from the Curiosity mission’s science cameras, operated by NASA, JPL-Caltech, and MSSS. The rubbly hill is part of the Murray buttes, named for Planetary Society founder Bruce Murray. Artist Seán Doran added in a figure of an astronaut to provide a sense of scale and wonder.

Working together, we:

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    ADVOCATE
    We shape space policy and fight for future exploration. We will:
    • Empower space advocates to take action by providing resources and opportunities.
    • Advocate for a NASA budget that supports a robust program of scientifically motivated planetary exploration by humans and robots.
    • Develop and promote new space policy solutions.
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    COLLABORATE
    We cultivate a worldwide movement for space. We will:
    • Engage our network of global members, volunteers, and partners.
    • Harness opportunities to connect experts, decision makers, influencers, and advocates.
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    EDUCATE
    We expand public knowledge about space. We will:
    • Create accessible educational content.
    • Help the scientific community inform the public.
    • Help citizens educate others.
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    INNOVATE
    We invest in innovative space science and technology. We will:
    • Provide citizens with opportunities to participate in space science and technology projects.
    • Improve the quality and quantity of space science and technology projects in which citizens can participate.
    • Provide funding to innovative new science and technology projects.
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Planetary Society members fought for nearly a decade to support a mission to Pluto. This image of Pluto’s surface, taken by the NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI New Horizons mission in 2015, was made possible, in part, by their advocacy.

GOALS 2019-2024

ADVANCE OUR CORE ENTERPRISES

For nearly 4 decades, The Planetary Society has been committed to advancing planetary exploration, planetary defense, and the search for life beyond Earth.

Over the next 5 years, we will magnify this dedication by focusing efforts and resources around these core enterprises.

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EXPLORE WORLDS

Increase discoveries about the worlds of our solar system and beyond.

STRATEGY

  • Build public support for planetary science and exploration.
  • Encourage decision makers to prioritize continual progression of human and robotic exploration.
  • Support scientific and technological advances in planetary exploration.
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FIND LIFE

Elevate the search for life as a space exploration priority.

STRATEGY

  • Advocate for the exploration of worlds that could harbor life.
  • Promote a broad approach to the search for life in our solar system and beyond.
  • Support scientific efforts dedicated to detecting and understanding exoplanets.
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DEFEND EARTH

Decrease the risk of Earth being hit by an asteroid or comet.

STRATEGY

  • Help observers find, track, and characterize near-Earth asteroids and comets.
  • Support the development of asteroid mitigation technology.
  • Collaborate with the professional community and decision makers to develop international response strategies to defend Earth from an asteroid or comet threat.

GOALS 2019-2024

GROW OUR COMMUNITY

We will invest in mission-aligned strategic growth areas to build a community that is increasingly large, empowered, and international.

We will enhance the member experience, continue to be a premier source of high-quality space information, and engage more people across our pale blue dot.

OBJECTIVE

Strengthen our member community.

STRATEGY

  • Provide a top-quality member experience.
  • Connect our members with each other.
  • Provide meaningful opportunities to have an impact.

OBJECTIVE

Increase public knowledge about space.

STRATEGY

  • Provide accessible space information and expertise that appeals to diverse audiences.
  • Create resources and tools to help citizens educate others.
  • Inspire young people to develop a passion for space exploration.

OBJECTIVE

Increase international participation.

STRATEGY

  • Provide resources for global outreach.
  • Create programs and activities relevant to international audiences.
  • Cultivate relationships with international partners.
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Planetary Society members fought for nearly a decade to support a mission to Pluto. This image of Pluto’s surface, taken by the NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI New Horizons mission in 2015, was made possible, in part, by their advocacy.
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This rocky near-Earth asteroid bears the name Bennu thanks to then 9-year-old Michael Puzio, who suggested the name in a Planetary Society-led naming contest. NASA, GSFC, and the University of Arizona plan to return a sample from the asteroid’s surface in 2023.
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GOALS 2019-2024

ENSURE ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE

In all that we do, we strive to be the world’s largest, most respected, most effective citizen space organization.

In the coming years, we will focus on the resilience of the organization, including improving data infrastructure, diversifying revenue sources, and developing our long-term endowment to maximize our positive impact.

OBJECTIVE

Increase capacity.

STRATEGY

  • Build sustainable, scalable systems.
  • Secure diverse, reliable funding to support increased programs and activities.
  • Invest in strategic growth goals of increasing membership, educational reach, and international development.

OBJECTIVE

Build reputation.

STRATEGY

  • Cultivate high-impact relationships to advance our mission.
  • Earn recognition for excellence.
  • Provide valuable insights and resources to professional communities, decision makers, and the media.

OBJECTIVE

Improve effectiveness.

STRATEGY

  • Build a culture of evaluation.
  • Invest in organizational resilience.
  • Prioritize opportunities for citizen action in support of space.
LightSail 2, The Planetary Society’s historic solar sailing spacecraft, unfurls its sails above the Baja Peninsula from an altitude almost twice as high as the International Space Station. The mission, which helps pave the way for future solar sailing, was funded by tens of thousands of Planetary Society members and supporters from all around the world.

LET'S GO!

On behalf of The Planetary Society’s Board and staff, thank you for being a space explorer. We need you and others like you who are passionate and ready to take action to support space exploration.

We believe that space is for everyone: that everyone, everywhere yearns to know the cosmos and our place within it. We also believe that public involvement is the key to robust, long-term, international space exploration. This is the vision your Planetary Society staff works toward each and every day as we pursue our mission to empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration.

We are proud of everything we’ve accomplished together over the last 39 years, and we’re poised to pursue even greater aspirations. We can’t do it without you. Working together, we’ll build on the firm foundation of the organization’s history, leverage recent successes to gain momentum, and launch this public movement for space to new heights. Let’s go!

JENNIFER VAUGHN
Chief Operating Officer
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
  • Chairman of the Board DANIEL T. GERACI Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Cygnus Investment Partners
  • President JAMES BELL Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University
  • Vice President HEIDI HAMMEL Executive Vice President, Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy
  • Chief Executive Officer BILL NYE Science Educator
  • Secretary WALLACE HOOSER Associate Professor of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School
  • Treasurer LON LEVIN President and CEO GEOshare LLC
  • BETHANY EHLMANN Professor, California Institute of Technology; Research Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • JOHN LOGSDON Professor Emeritus, Space Policy Institute, The George Washington University
  • ROBERT PICARDO Actor
  • BRITNEY SCHMIDT Assistant Professor School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • BIJAL “BEE” THAKORE Regional Coordinator for Asia Pacific, Space Generation Advisory Council
  • FILLMORE WOOD Vice President and Regional Counsel, BP, retired
COFOUNDERS
  • CARL SAGAN 1934–1996
  • BRUCE MURRAY 1931–2013
  • LOUIS D. FRIEDMAN Executive Director Emeritus
ADVISORY COUNCIL
  • BUZZ ALDRIN
  • ROBERT D. BRAUN
  • DAVID BRIN
  • G. SCOTT HUBBARD
  • GARRY E. HUNT
  • BRUCE JAKOSKY
  • RYAN JOHNSON
  • CHARLES E. KOHLHASE JR.
  • BEN LAMM
  • LAURIE LESHIN
  • JON LOMBERG
  • ROSALY LOPES
  • BOB MCDONALD
  • PETE SLOSBERG
  • TIM SPAHR
  • DIPAK SRINIVASAN
  • KEVIN STUBE
  • LORNE TROTTIER
  • NEIL DeGRASSE TYSON
NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini mission
LightSail 2 shines in sunlight during its “day in the life” test.
Planetary Society volunteers
Planetary Society volunteers inspire young minds at a public outreach event. Images taken by Chief Scientist Dr. Bruce Betts.
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