Articles

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

Speedy spacecraft and pretty pics

Take a look at some of our favorite recent space images and learn about an express mission to Mars.

Searching the skies to keep us all alive

Astronomers around the world are working to protect the Earth from asteroid impacts, with the help of Planetary Society members and donors.

Want to be a citizen astronomer and defend Earth from asteroids? Here are some tips.

We asked three Planetary Society Shoemaker NEO grant winners for tips on how to assemble your own planetary defense observatory.

Day and night, it’s all about starlight

This week in space: Mars days almost match up with ours, and light and molecules are created by distant stars.

Vladimir Benishek and the mystique of asteroid research

The Planetary Society Shoemaker NEO Grant winner learned from his mother and grandfather, while also forging his own path.

The scientific truth is out there

The real science of aliens, the policy implications of ET, and new views of worlds beyond our own.

Are aliens real?

An exploration of whether aliens are out there, what kind of extraterrestrial life is most likely to exist, and how we're looking for it.

Would you like some salty water with your space salad?

Two new grant-winning projects, a collection of awesome space imagery, a mighty plume, and much more this week in space.

Way out there

We’re always learning more about the worlds of the outer Solar System, and even those beyond.

Five asteroid deflection techniques to save the Earth

Kinetic impactor or nuclear blast? Here are some ways to defend our planet from a dangerous asteroid.

Hard-working spacecraft and even harder-working microbes

The Soyuz spacecraft have been helping humans get to and from space for decades, but that’s nothing compared to the billions of years that microorganisms have been making life on Earth possible.

Why has SpaceX's Starship sparked an environmental controversy?

An interview with environmental policy expert Eric Roesch about what made the April 2023 Starship test launch so environmentally harmful, and why the Federal Aviation Administration may ultimately be to blame.

Moonshadow, Moonshadow

The Moon casts shadows on itself and on Earth, environmental concerns overshadow a test launch’s success, and exoplanets are awesome (beyond a shadow of a doubt).

Have a nice flight!

Flying on Titan is easy, but not as easy as flying on Deimos. Plus, Juice takes off and Ingenuity captures a view from the air.

Rocket flight and the five dwarfs

Meet the Solar System’s five official dwarf planets, celebrate two major launches, and find out why planets sometimes seem to go backwards across the sky.

What does “Mercury in retrograde” actually mean?

"Mercury in retrograde" is one of the most searched terms relating to the planet. Astrological interpretations aside, apparent retrograde motion is an interesting phenomenon that has to do with orbital speeds and observer perspective.

Want more space? Speak up!

Detailed Mars maps, insights into the Venusian surface, and views of Uranian rings all have one thing in common: they don’t happen without public support for space.