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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
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.
Upward bound: Canada's Space Advisory Board provides its recommendations
Canada's Space Advisory Board has provided a clear set of recommendations to advance the country's space program, and The Planetary Society is proud to have played a role in the process.
Planetary Society hosts space policy reception at Australian Embassy
This year’s International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is being held in Adelaide, Australia. Thanks to the generous support of our members, The Society’s advocacy and outreach capability is rapidly expanding, and we decided to step up our IAC advocacy this year.
Your guide to Jim Bridenstine, the new nominee for NASA administrator
The White House announced it will nominate Jim Bridenstine to become NASA's next administrator.
Here's what we know about the 12 proposals for NASA's next New Frontiers mission
NASA officials are in the process of selecting the agency’s next planetary science mission from a field of 12 competitors.
A space advocate on Capitol Hill: Planetary Society intern shares story
Planetary Society intern Aaron Campbell recaps his experience working on Capitol Hill over the course of two summers.
The Senate Makes Its Move: Nearly $200M less for NASA in 2018
The proposed $19.5 billion would be less than the agency received in 2017, and substantially less than that proposed by the House for the coming year.
HERA team completes 45-day mission to explore asteroid, from Texas
What's it like spending 45 days confined to a habitat at Johnson Space Center simulating a crewed NASA mission to an asteroid? Tim Evans sends us this report.
Meet Scott Pace, the National Space Council's new executive secretary
Pace will help develop policies that affect the future of NASA. Here's a guide to this influential new member of the Trump administration.
Space Policy and Advocacy Quarterly Update - July 2017
The Space Policy and Advocacy team has released its first in a series of regular program updates on our activities, actions, and priorities in our effort to promote space science and exploration in Washington, D.C.
From Member to Member
When a Society member met with his member of Congress, he told us about it, and we followed up.
How we would explore Uranus or Neptune
One fact dominates the planning for any mission to Uranus or Neptune: They lie far from the sun. A newly released NASA report looks at how we can explore these icy giants.
President Trump formed a national space council. Now it needs a NASA administrator
Tomorrow, NASA acting administrator Robert Lightfoot will have served longer than any other temporary head of NASA without having a successor nominated to fill the position.
This giant, flower-shaped starshade creates an artificial eclipse to see distant exoplanets
Starshade is a proposed flower-shaped spacecraft that can create an artificial eclipse, allowing space telescopes to spot planets orbiting distant stars.
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.
Announcing a New Paper on NASA's Mars Exploration Program
NASA’s robotic Mars Exploration Program is on a troubling path of decline—and decisions must be made now in order to stop it. A new report by the Society explains why.
NASA's 2018 budget request is here, and we broke down the details
The White House's 2018 federal budget request includes $19.1 billion for NASA, which is a 3 percent drop from 2017. We broke down the details.
Does NASA get its money's worth for Antares-Cygnus flights?
Despite being funded to fill a perceived gap in U.S. launch capabilities, Orbital ATK's Antares rocket has yet to find a customer besides NASA. Did the space agency get its money's worth?
Planetary Science Just Got Its Best Budget in Years
The President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, funding the U.S. government for the remainder of the fiscal year. NASA got a boost to $19.65 billion, and its Planetary Science Division saw a budget increase to $1.846 billion—its best budget in more than ten years.
NASA unveiled new plans for getting humans to Mars, and hardly anyone noticed
NASA revealed its most concrete plan yet for sending humans back into deep space, centered around a small lunar space station and a reusable transport ship to carry astronauts to Mars and back.