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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Moon, Mars and a Meteor Shower
Remembering a space pioneer and seeing a rover from a whole new perspective.
A Tiny Spacecraft Makes a Huge Leap with a Short Flight
Ingenuity flies on Mars and a NASA-SpaceX partnership paves the way for humans to get there too.
Why NASA Picked SpaceX to Land Humans on the Moon
NASA picked SpaceX's Starship to land humans on the Moon as part of the agency's Artemis program. The decision will help humans land on Mars.
Cosmic streaks, smudges, and fuzz
See images of the cosmos that reflect fascinating features of worlds and stars, and take action to advance exploration.
The Space Advocate Newsletter, January 2021
A mob at the U.S. Capitol Building. A presidential transition. NASA's final FY 2021 budget. A failed SLS test.
NASA Rings in the New Year with $22.6 billion
NASA's final 2020 budget rejected every major cut proposed by the Trump Administration, increased funding for popular congressional projects such as the Space Launch System, and underfunded several key administration proposals, including a human-qualified lunar lander and low-Earth orbit commercialization projects.
The Most Important Space Policy Events of the 2010s
The end of the Space Shuttle, the rise of public-private partnerships, and the return to the Moon. As the 2010s come to a close, what were the most impactful events that shaped U.S. space policy?
Hearing Recap: NASA’s FY 2020 Budget Request
On March 27, 2019, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies held a hearing titled, “NASA’s FY 2020 Budget Request.”
T-minus Five Years and Counting
Can NASA really return astronauts to the Moon by 2024?
NASA’s Lucy mission gets caught in a fight between rocket companies
SpaceX says it wants to save NASA money, but its actions could cost taxpayers more in the end.
NASA's Orion spacecraft makes progress, but are the agency's lunar plans on track?
Orion's service module arrived in Florida, but some space industry experts question whether NASA's human spaceflight plans are realistic.
Space station crew safe after failed launch
About two minutes after liftoff, the Soyuz vehicle carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin to orbit failed.
The day I caught rocket fever
On February 6, 2018, I found myself shoulder to shoulder with two of my heroes: Bill Nye on the left, Buzz Aldrin on the right. Our eyes were fixed on the first vertical Falcon Heavy rocket. Figuring the world's most powerful rocket might send me flying backwards once the countdown hit zero, I gripped the railing so tightly I started to lose the feeling in my fingertips.
Goodbye, Delta II rocket
This Saturday, the final Delta II rocket will launch NASA's ICESat-2 spacecraft into orbit.
Orion's third flight will haul two pieces of a space station to lunar orbit
NASA is planning for a 30-day mission to lunar orbit in 2024.
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.
Clipper Slipper
Will NASA's Space Launch System be ready to launch a Europa mission in 2022?
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.
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.
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.