Articles

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

A long night, and “so long!” to InSight

Celebrate the December solstice, be thankful you’re not on Triton, and say goodbye to the InSight Mars lander.

Capturing the Cosmos

This week we have images snapped the old-fashioned and cutting-edge ways, creative ways of thinking about exploration, and artwork that expresses the beauty of it all.

The Space Advocate Newsletter, December 2022

Looking back on our advocacy goals in 2022.

NEO Surveyor is confirmed

After nearly two decades of consideration, NASA made a formal commitment to NEO Surveyor, an asteroid-hunting space telescope.

Out-of-this-world astronauts (literally)

Celebrating 50 years of Apollo 17, the last crewed mission to the Moon.

Much has passed in decades past

With anniversaries come reflections, and there’s a lot to look back on in the history of space.

NASA’s economic impact? Hundreds of thousands of jobs.

In 2021, NASA supported an estimated 339,645 jobs across the United States. A new report details the astounding economic benefits of the space agency in every state.

A Full Moon Rising Near the U.S. Capitol

What the 2022 midterm elections mean for NASA

Republicans regain control of the House. The Senate remains under Democratic control. This divided governance could slow down the pace of space legislation, even for “must-pass” items like NASA's annual budget.

The Space Advocate Newsletter, November 2022

Divided control of Congress could slow the pace of space.

NASA’s Artemis I mission has successfully launched

Despite several setbacks and delays, NASA's Artemis I mission successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022.

A year in review and a reddish hue

Get ready for a total lunar eclipse and pick your favorites from this year in space.

The live space feeds you should be following right now

Here are some livestreams to save so you can watch rocket launch feeds, space station broadcasts off-Earth, and other space-related activities in real-time.

The Space Advocate Newsletter, October 2022

Will a SETI signal unite or divide us?

The Space Advocate Newsletter, September 2022

Clever politicking means nothing if the SLS cannot deliver on its core promise.

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.