Articles

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

Who gets to use JWST and what's it like?

There are only so many hours of telescope time available to unlock the secrets of the Universe.

How NASA will use helicopters to return samples from Mars in 2033

NASA's latest plans for its Mars Sample Return mission will rely on the Perseverance rover and two 'Ingenuity-class' helicopters.

Cloudy with a chance of life

Looking at the myriad possibilities that may exist within the clouds of Venus.

NASA's InSight mission is dying. Next could come the ‘Mars Life Explorer’

If there is Martian life then it could be in ice water under the red planet’s surface. The Mars Life Explorer, included in the most recent Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, would search for this.

Comets: big, beautiful, and surprisingly smelly

Get ready for one of the year’s best meteor showers, caused by one of the many intriguing comets of our Solar System.

The Space Advocate Newsletter, August 2022

The ISS partnership remains stable...for now.

Your Guide to Water on the Moon

Learn when we discovered lunar water, where it is, and how future missions will study it.

Rather remarkable robots

The robotic explorers of our Cosmos are truly impressive, as showcased by several spacecraft this week.

Artemis 1 with NASA's Crawler-Transporter

Why we have the SLS

The SLS rests on a secure foundation of political support, a consequence of the U.S. framework of representative democracy and discretionary funding.

Sights beyond the visible

See images your eyes wouldn’t normally be able to see, and learn about what these images can teach you.

Uranus' mysterious moons: why NASA wants to explore Ariel and Miranda

Are the moons of Uranus "relic" ocean worlds like Ceres or active ocean worlds like Enceladus? A proposed flagship mission aims to find out.

Equatorial region of Venus from Akatsuki

Life on Venus? New updates on the search

Astronomer Jane Greaves presents new findings that could support of phosphine in the clouds of Venus.

A space smorgasbord

Sample the best tidbits from space exploration this week, including news from across the Solar System and beyond, and personal insights from leaders of exploration.

Slowly returning to in-person member events

The Planetary Society is resuming in-person events for our members. Here's a brief look back at some of our recent events.

Faith, Doubt, and Contact

Contact remains a unique movie due to its representation of science. It remains a great film due to the treatment of doubt and faith as a universal aspect of human existence.