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30th Anniversary of The Planetary Society
  

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The cover of Volume Volume XXX, Number Number 4
On the Cover: On June 13, 2010, Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft returned home from its seven-year journey to asteroid Itokawa. A team of scientists from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA, and other organizations studied the spacecraft's fiery reentry using instruments on board NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory. The small point of light at the lower right in this still video frame is the precious sample-return capsule. Bottom: Hayabusa team members transported the sample-return capsule to Australia's Woomera Test Range Instrumentation Building, where it was held overnight before being returned to Japan.
Images from top: NASA/ARC-SST SETI Institute, Australian
Science Media Center

From the Editor

As you know, The Planetary Society will soon welcome new leadership, when Bill Nye the Science Guy takes over as executive director in September. To help you get to know him better, in this issue, Bill tells you a little about his multifaceted self -- as a working engineer, as a world-renowned performer, and as a soon-to-be executive director.

Bill is a Charter Member, so he knows about both the Society's accomplishments and its potential. He says, "We need to explore. That's what you and I support at The Planetary Society."

With new leadership, the Society's commitment to exploration will progress with programs like the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. The discovery of a technological civilization on another planet would resonate through the ages, and Society Members have supported SETI for most of our history.

In 1982, we began to work with SETI innovator Paul Horowitz. When it comes to building devices to search for signals from across the galaxy, Paul has never stopped advancing. Plus, he has challenged a generation of young scientists to push the boundaries of the possible to detect faint messages from possible alien civilizations, as you can read about in these pages.

The Planetary Society makes it possible for people like you and me to play significant roles in projects like SETI that advance science and exploration. We can make the wonderful possible. As Bill says, "Let's change the world!"

--Charlene M. Anderson

Features

Passing the Torch: The Planetary Society's New Executive Director

We Make It Happen! Looking for ET Using Laser Light
by Bruce Betts

Hayabusa Returns! Looking Back on the Little Spacecraft that Could
by Emily Stewart Lakdawalla

Solar Sail Update: IKAROS Deploys and LightSail Moves forward
by Louis D. Friedman

World Watch
Questions and Answers
Members' Dialogue
Society News