Articles

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

HERA crewmember shares thoughts ahead of simulated 45-day asteroid mission

Tonight, a four-person crew will seal themselves inside a three-story habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center, kicking off a simulated 45-day mission to an asteroid. One crewmember shares his thoughts before entering.

Fossils or good-looking rocks? Why searching for life on other worlds is hard

If you find a structure that looks like ancient life, can you be really sure that it is ancient life?

China's lunar sample return mission will pave way for future ambitions

Later this year, China is launching the Change'5 spacecraft to return a sample from the Moon. The mission will pave the way for future ambitions, including crewed trips to the lunar surface.

Unraveling a Martian enigma: The hidden rivers of Arabia Terra

Arabia Terra has always been a bit of a martian enigma. Planetary scientist Joel Davis takes us on a tour of its valley networks and their significance in telling the story of water on Mars.

Radar in Earth and Planetary Science: An Intro

Heather Hunter explains how radar works and what it's used for on Earth and beyond.

Finding spacecraft impacts on the Moon

Over nearly 60 years of spacecraft exploration of the Moon, lots of spacecraft have crashed on the lunar surface—some accidental, some intentional. Phil Stooke hunts for their impact sites.

Microbes exist deep inside Earth’s craters. Could this be the secret to finding life on other worlds?

Earth possesses amazing biological diversity. Every corner of this planet—no matter how bizarre the place—is inhabited by microorganisms. This includes impact craters.

China outlines its space exploration ambitions

China released a new white paper on its policy and activities in space, outlining ambitious deep space exploration, human spaceflight and space science projects as major priorities for the years up to 2020 and beyond.

GOES-R: What’s Next?

After a series of maneuvers in-orbit, GOES-R—now known as GOES-16—has reached its designated location in space. What happens next?

Planetary discovery over the past quarter century

2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of what has become one of the primary venues for the publication of research in planetary science: the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. This occasion is a good opportunity to look back at what we have learned in this era of expanded exploration and to try to take a peek at the future.

Artist’s impression of the lander and rover on the lunar surface

TeamIndus Announces Launch Contract with ISRO

TeamIndus, India’s only entry for the Google Lunar XPRIZE, just announced their launch contract with ISRO. If successful, TeamIndus would be the first private company from India to land a craft on an extraterrestrial body.

GOES-R: A GOES Primer

The current GOES-East and GOES-West have been faithfully providing continuous imagery and data on Earth and space weather for almost a decade. So, with the launch of the first of the next generation of GOES satellites, GOES-R, what is NOAA trying to accomplish?