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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Will an asteroid hit Earth? Your questions answered.
The Planetary Society presents a list of Frequent Asteroid Questions (FAQs).
New report explores threat from near-Earth asteroids
How dangerous are near-Earth asteroids, and what will we do if we find one headed toward Earth?
#LPSC2018: Fungi in the lab, hot springs frozen cold, and exploding lakes
The first astrobiology session at last week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference featured talks on a huge variety of interesting topics, and was one of my favorite sessions at the meeting.
Announcing the 2018 Shoemaker NEO Grant Winners
Seven very advanced amateur astronomers will help find, track, and characterize near Earth asteroids.
If you come at the Space Launch System, you best not miss
Getting NASA out of the rocket business is more complicated than you think.
Creating a guidebook for Earth's hypothetical twin
Early Earth's atmosphere wasn't a place for humans. Yet the planet had microbial life—something we should keep in mind for exoplanets.
What's Up in Solar System Exploration in 2018
Three launches to the Moon and one each to Mercury and Mars; two arrivals at near-Earth asteroids; and an approach to an encounter with a distant Kuiper belt object are highlights we anticipate in 2018.
Clipper Slipper
Will NASA's Space Launch System be ready to launch a Europa mission in 2022?
Reminder: The Giant Magellan Telescope is going to be awesome
The GMT will characterize Earth-size exoplanets' atmospheres, looking for compounds that indicate the presence of life.
Is There Anybody out There?
The Planetary Society has supported SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, practically since our founding in 1980. Learn the past, present, and future of SETI.
Planetary Society-funded telescopes help find ring around Haumea, a distant dwarf planet
Haumea has a ring! Two telescopes used in the discovery—one in Slovenia, and one in Italy—received funding from The Planetary Society's Shoemaker Near Earth Object (NEO) Grant program, which helps amateur astronomers find, track and characterize near-Earth asteroids.
Doing SETI Better by Understanding Ourselves
One of the reasons SETI is hard is that we don’t know exactly what we are looking for, and part of that difficulty is that we still aren’t sure of who we are. An astronomer and an anthropologist team up to explore how cultural myopia shape what we can find in the cosmos.
We choose to go to the Moon and do the other things
Vice President Mike Pence kicked off the National Space Council's first meeting today by declaring Americans will return to the Moon. Casey Dreier and Jason Davis analyze this new direction for NASA's human spaceflight program.
NASA, international partners consider solar sail for Deep Space Gateway
A Canadian Space Agency proposal would install a solar sail on the outside of the Deep Space Gateway, a miniature space station in lunar orbit.
Meet two astronaut candidates who can help NASA do science on other worlds
Two of NASA's new astronaut candidates are particularly suited to conduct scientific research on other worlds: Zena Cardman, a geobiologist, and Jessica Watkins, a geologist.
Function over form: NASA's Space Launch System gets a new paint job
Last week, NASA revealed an updated design for the Space Launch System, featuring black-and-white checkerboards streaking down each of the vehicle's solid rocket boosters.
Cubes in Space
Aspiring astrophysicist Julie Seven Sage reports from the launch of student-designed CubeSat payloads at NASA's Wallops Flight Center.
Revisiting the ice giants: NASA study considers Uranus and Neptune missions
Only one spacecraft has ever visited Uranus and Neptune: Voyager 2, in the late 1980s. A new NASA report explores the reasons to go back, and what type of mission might take us there.
Did a Planetary Society citizen scientist help find one of Earth’s biggest impact craters?
Scientists have found what appears to be a 250-kilometer-wide crater near the Falkland Islands. Is it ground zero for Earth's largest-ever extinction event?
Recap: India's new GSLV-MK3 rocket completes successful test
The first operational launch of the Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark 3 rocket, or GSLV-MK3, developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), was successfully conducted on Monday.