Articles

Detlef Koschny

Defending the planet from the hazard of potential asteroid impacts requires investments from the whole world. In Europe, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Union both support work to understand and mitigate the threats from near-Earth objects.

Casey Dreier

NASA used to spend more on travel for its employees at headquarters than it did on finding dangerous near-Earth asteroids. Now it’s building asteroid-hunting space telescopes. What changed?

Jason Davis

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

Jason Davis

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

Casey Dreier

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

Jason Davis

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

Robert Picardo

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

Jason Davis

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

Jason Davis

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

Emily Lakdawalla

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.

Jennifer Vaughn

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.

Vishnu Reddy

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

Javier Peralta

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

The Planetary Society

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

Emily Lakdawalla

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.

Jason Davis

Japan's sample return spacecraft only has about 3 months left at asteroid Ryugu. Its next action will be to drop more stuff on the surface.

Darin Ragozzine

The LSST is expected to increase the number of known small bodies by more than a factor of 10.

Casey Dreier

Though prize incentives can be useful for certain problems, huge cash payouts for human spaceflight are not good policy.

Jason Davis

LightSail 2's orbital high point around the Earth has raised by 7.2 kilometers, without any conventional fuel.

Jason Davis

Last week, technicians installed the carousel that holds the tools and drill bits that will be used to collect samples for future return to Earth.