Articles

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

The future of solar sailing

An exciting future for solar sailing is on the horizon.

Crowd watching the launch of LightSail 2

Harnessing the power of the crowd

The Planetary Society has a long history of helping the public make progress in space exploration.

Never let a rock sneak up on you

Finding asteroids before they hit Earth not only protects us from harm, it can also yield beautiful photos.

Red hot space

This week’s roundup of space news and exploration inspiration will leave you seeing red (in the best way possible).

Why we need the NEO Surveyor space telescope

A space-based solution like NEO Surveyor will find more asteroids, more quickly, than any ground-based alternative. Combined with deflection technology, this gives humanity a chance to alter its fate should a threatening asteroid be found early enough.

Weaving together a picture of the Cosmos

When we combine data sources, collaborate with each other, and invite artistic perspectives, we can better understand the Universe we live in.

What was the Chelyabinsk meteor event?

When an asteroid exploded in the atmosphere above Chelyabinsk, Russia on Feb. 15, 2013, it made history and underscored the importance of planetary defense.

What does a bear have in common with a megatsunami?

An old image of Mars drives scientific questions today, moons and mini asteroids fuel fascination, and an unexpected ursine figure shows itself.

The Space Advocate Newsletter, February 2023

The new cislunar national strategy suggests a new level of maturity for our coming lunar decade.

Our favorite moons of the Solar System

A brief guide to eight of our Solar System's most fascinating and scientifically promising moons.

More worlds, anyone?

The more we search, the more we find. From exoplanets to moons to asteroids, the list of worlds just keeps growing.

Best space pictures of the month: January 2023

A sample depot on Mars and a stunning green comet top this month's space highlights.

By Jove! (Literally)

Jupiter’s moons have always been exciting to explore, and a new era of Jovian moon research is about to begin.

How JWST confirmed its first exoplanet and opened a new frontier

JWST's observations of the exoplanet LHS 475 b have demonstrated the space telescope's abilities in the realm of rocky exoplanet research.

What to expect from Juno's Io flybys, and why a proposed mission there would tell us more

NASA's Juno spacecraft will spend 2023 flying closer and closer to Jupiter's moon Io.

I spy with my technologically enhanced eye

Seeing more with infrared cameras, radar telescopes, and good old-fashioned artistic instincts.

Tianwen-2: China’s Near-Earth asteroid and comet double-header

China is gearing up for an ambitious combined mission to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid, deliver the material to Earth, and then head off back into deep space to study a comet.