Articles

Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.

Gifts from above

Space exploration bestows us with many gifts, from scientific insights and beautiful images to technological marvels and inspiring achievements. Now it’s your turn to bestow some cosmic gifts.

Perfect gifts for space lovers, by space lovers

Planetary Society members helped us create our space gift recommendations for this year.

How NASA plans to deorbit the International Space Station

The aging complex will be replaced by commercially operated space stations, and deorbited as soon as 2030.

LightSail 2’s legacy lives on

On the one-year anniversary of LightSail 2’s end of flight, we look back at the mission that united so many.

Earthrise by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

How old is the Earth?

The Earth is thought to be about 4.54 billion years old. Learn more about how it formed, and how we know when this all happened.

Planetary paparazzi

Who needs candid celebrity snapshots? We’ve got all the best pics of your favorite planetary bodies.

The best pictures of Mars from space

Spacecraft have been taking pictures of Mars from space since 1965. Here are some of our favorites.

Lucy’s flyby of Dinkinesh: Everything you need to know

On Nov. 1, 2023, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft flew past Dinkinesh, a small asteroid in the main belt, and discovered a binary pair of moonlets in orbit around the asteroid.

Why aren't there more close-up images of Uranus and Neptune?

There aren't many close-up, high-resolution images of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune. The reason comes down to distance.

The best! The farthest! The maximum!

Space superlatives abound this week. We’ve made a couple of awards, but the rest are up to you to decide.

Galactic ghouls and vampire stars

Space can be a scary place! But fear not — it’s all still fascinating.

Behold, the moon(s)!

With International Observe the Moon Night coming up, there are many moons worth checking out.

Syzygy + apogee = majesty

An annular solar eclipse is about to wow the world, and there’s plenty more to get excited about in space science and exploration this week.

Psyche mission successfully launches

The spacecraft has begun its six-year journey to the same-name metal world.

How astronomers search for life on exoplanets

Technologies for studying planets around other stars are advancing all the time. Along with those advancements come new ways to look for possible signs of life on those planets.

How do humans try to communicate with aliens?

SETI is the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, using various techniques to look for signals from advanced alien civilizations. METI (messaging extraterrestrial intelligence) is when we send out our own signals for aliens to find.

Cosmic cocktail hour

Jupiter looks fit for a martini, and Carl Sagan pairs well with a cosmopolitan. Find out why, and learn about the latest in space science and exploration.