Articles

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

NASA to Build New Asteroid-Hunting Space Telescope

The yet-to-be-named telescope would launch as soon as 2024, as part of NASA's new, multi-pronged approach to planetary defense.

LightSail 2 over the Caribbean (Camera 1, Processed)

Bill Nye, Planetary Society Staff Listen to LightSail 2 Signal

When LightSail 2 recently flew south of The Planetary Society's headquarters, CEO Bill Nye and other staff members stepped outside to listen.

Registration Is Now Open for the 2020 Day of Action

Join The Planetary Society and advocate for space in Washington, D.C. this 9 - 10 February 2020.

Astronomers May Have Found an Interstellar Comet. Here's Why That Matters.

Astrophysicist Karl Battams tells us what we can learn by studying objects from outside our solar system.

Here's How I'm Celebrating 53 Years of Star Trek

Star Trek Voyager Emergency Medical Hologram and Planetary Society Board member Robert Picardo uncovers rare Star Trek artifacts at The Planetary Society.

LightSail 2 North of Australia (Camera 1, Processed)

Calling All Image Processors: Help Us Create a Top-Down View of LightSail 2

We've got 2 fish-eye pictures of the spacecraft's solar sail from opposite cameras, and we're hoping they can be combined.

Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander deploying rover

India's Vikram Spacecraft Apparently Crash-Lands on Moon

Communications were lost with the lander, which was carrying a small rover named Pragyan to the lunar surface.

Venus’ Ocean of Air and Clouds

Javier Peralta plumbs the depths of Venus’ atmosphere through the eyes of the Venus Express and Akatsuki orbiters.

Why I Explore

I explore space because I like feeling insignificant. I crave a dark night sky that reminds me that our Sun and even our galaxy are not unique. I find comfort in thinking about countless generations of humans looking at the same sky and asking questions similar to the ones I ask.

The State of Planetary Defense

Vishnu Reddy delivers a sober but hopeful report on our understanding of near-Earth objects, their dangers, and our readiness.

Crowd watching the launch of LightSail 2

Your Impact: September Equinox 2019

Your LightSail 2 spacecraft is in space, controlling its orbit solely on the power of sunlight.

LightSail 2 Solar Sail over Baja California

The September Equinox 2019 Issue of The Planetary Report Is Out!

A new issue of The Planetary Report brings you our pride in the success of LightSail 2 and our gratitude to our members for making it happen. Plus Venus science from Akatsuki and Venus Express, and the status of planetary defense.

Where We Are on 1 October 2019

We lost and gained spacecraft at the Moon last quarter. India’s Chandrayaan-2 left Earth orbit for the Moon on 13 August, and its Vikram lander aims at a 7 September touchdown. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter just celebrated its tenth launch anniversary. China’s smallsat Longjiang-2 crashed on 31 July, ending its successful mission.