Articles

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

Planetary Science Gets Its Day in Congress

Watch Planetary Society President Jim Bell testify before a congressional subcommittee on Wednesday, September 10th.

Canadian Mars Analogue Mission: Field Report, Week 2

Tanya Harrison wraps up the final week of Mars sample return analogue mission operations at the Canadian Space Agency.

Canadian Mars Analogue Mission: Field Report, Week 1

Tanya Harrison reports on Canada's efforts to simulate a Mars sample return mission here on Earth.

Capitol Hill Responds to the Lure of Europa

A standing-room only crowd learned the lure of Europa, the moon of Jupiter with more liquid water than the Earth, at a special Planetary Society event on capitol hill.

We could find life on another planet, but do we have the will?

Are we alone in the universe? This month’s National Geographic cover story takes a look at the question, and I weighed in on the subject.

Building Our Community by Being Part of it

The last six weeks have been especially busy due to an unusually high number of conferences and festivals, so I thought I'd summarize what's been going on and how The Planetary Society has been involved.

Making the Rounds on Capitol Hill

There's an old saying about Washington, D.C.: it’s a small town, based on relationships. We are establishing very good relationships with members of the U.S. Congress and the Administration. Three of us made the rounds recently, going from one Congressional Member’s office to another to support planetary exploration and a mission to Europa. Our team included Casey Dreier, our Director of Advocacy; Bill Adkins, our lobbyist in Washington; and me.

The Planetary Society Supports NASA's Asteroid Initiative

The Planetary Society strongly supports NASA's asteroid initiative, including the goal of redirecting an asteroid to the vicinity of the Moon. But an independent cost estimate is needed, and needed soon.

The Martian analemma as seen by Opportunity, Mars Years 28 and 29

A Martian analemma

A Mars year's worth of Sun images from Opportunity demonstrates Mars' orbital motions as reflected in the changing apparent position of the Sun: the analemma.

PlanetVac Sample Implementation with Lander

Swirly PlanetVac

There are swirly indications from a study of how to optimize the lander pad portion of the Planetary Society/Honeybee Robotics PlanetVac planetary surface sampling system.

The Future of Human Spaceflight – A Public Forum

A panel of three former astronauts will discuss the future of human spaceflight at a public event at the California Institute of Technology's Beckman Auditorium, Tuesday, April 8th, 2014 at 8 pm.

The new Cosmos: Standing Up in the Milky Way

My daughters liked the new Cosmos and want to watch next week. I thought it was a successful beginning for a long series, and I think it'll become a weekly viewing event for our family. I hope other families think the same.

That time Bill Nye took a selfie with Neil Tyson and Barack Obama

That time I took a selfie with Neil Tyson and the President of the United States

Last week, my fellow Board Member Neil deGrasse Tyson and I were invited to be presenters at the first edition of the White House Film Festival. Neil asked the President if we could take a selfie with him. In those few moments, the President, Neil, and I spoke about science and space exploration.