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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
The Skirmishing Has Begun
Today, 12 July 2011, the Planetary Society submitted into testimony a written statement to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the U.S. House of Representatives for their hearing on NASA's Space Launch System.
Getting Ready for the Next Skirmish: Battle Over NASA Budget Continues
Shudders are still rolling through the space-exploration community after the House Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee voted on July 7 to slash NASA's budget by $1.9 billion.
House subcommittee votes to slash NASA
Today the U.S. House of Representative subcommittee charged with appropriating funds to NASA mandated a draconian cut of almost $2 billion from the space agency's proposed budget.
From Earth Orbit to Washington, D.C.
About a week ago, I attended the meeting of an organization I am excited about: the Alliance for Earth Observation. The conference was remarkable.
URGENT: Call Appropriations Committee members to support Pu-238 production
I just got the following email from the American Geophysical Union (AGU), requesting anyone whose Congressperson sits on the Appropriations Committee to place a phone call to support the production of Plutonium-238, the isotope of plutonium that powers spacecraft that cannot run on solar power.
Europa on the Ropes
For now, Mars continues to eclipse Jupiter's moon Europa (shown here to scale) in NASA's flagship mission plans, but not in its appeal to many planetary scientists.
Memo to Australians: Tell your government if space exploration benefits your community
Australia's Space Policy Unit is conducting a survey of people in the commercial space industry, state and local governments, and education and research sectors as part of an effort to assess the economic value of civil space to the country.
Just Released: The Planetary Science Decadal Survey for 2013-2022
The embargo has just been lifted on the National Research Council's
NASA: NOT Grounded
So I just received my
Help explorers from Earth travel to new places in our Solar System
Nobel Prize laureates and former NASA officials have come together to express concern over the House of Representatives Science Committee's proposed budget for NASA.
Update on the NASA Authorization Bill
Yesterday, the Planetary Society issued a statement about the request that the U.S. House of Representatives suspend the rules when voting on the NASA Authorization bill, saying, in part,
Critical partnerships for the future of human space exploration
Exploring the current debate in the context of these three partnerships might help illuminate how future human expeditions beyond LEO will be carried out.tical partnerships for the future of human space exploration
Urgent action required: Please call Senators TODAY
It's time to make phone calls to support space exploration. We're sending the following letter to all our members today, and urge everyone reading this to pick up the phone and take action.
Back to Apollo? Or Time for a Restart?
To see the bigger picture, it can help to step back a bit from your current position. Sometimes you need to consider the past to inform your vision for the future.
Bill Takes a Job
Bill gives an introduction about his feelings on his new position here at The Planetary Society.
U.S. Citizens: Please write your elected representatives about restarting plutonium-238 production!
I'm hereby posting a request that was sent earlier today to members of the Division of Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society by its chair, Candy Hansen.
More Support for the 2011 Budget Proposal
The new joint statement by space organizations representing a large segment of the science and space-interest community, including The Planetary Society, is a terrific endorsement for the 2011 budget proposal for NASA.
Apollo Astronaut Rusty Schweickart Boosts New NASA Plan
It's the hottest debate I've seen in 30 years of following space policy -- this uproar over NASA's proposed FY 2011 budget.
Planetary Society Tells Congress "Reassert Optimism, Inspire Future Generations"
Two weeks ago, The Planetary Society submitted a statement to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee considering the fiscal year 2011 budget request for NASA.
From the Executive Director: Space Exploration is Non-partisan
I've been getting a tremendous amount of e-mail (and old-fashioned postal mail, too) in response to the new plan for human space exploration announced by the Obama Administration.