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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Space station crew safe after failed launch
About two minutes after liftoff, the Soyuz vehicle carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin to orbit failed.
MAVEN, in orbit around Mars, snaps anniversary selfie
The spacecraft used its ultraviolet spectrograph imager for the job, and one frame shows Mars in the background.
MASCOT landing on Ryugu a success
For 17 hours on 3 October, the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) lander sent data to the waiting Hayabusa2 orbiter from multiple locations on Ryugu.
How to design an effective scientific poster
In short, a poster should be as close to an infographic as possible.
The Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Team Initiates Plan to Recover Oppy, Orbiter Sends Postcard, Storm Ends
As the global storm that wrapped the Red Planet in a cloud of dust since late June finally gave up the ghost in September, the sky continued to clear over Endeavour Crater and the Opportunity team initiated the NASA-approved two-step plan to reestablish contact with the rover.
The NASA programs most impacted by the budget delay
Fiscal year 2019 is here, but NASA doesn't have a new budget. Which programs could suffer the most as a consequence?
NASA Then & Now
A collection of before and after slider images showing how views of planets in our solar system have changed over the years since NASA was created.
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is getting a signal boost
It's all thanks to renewed interest from NASA and a private effort to scan the skies using an array of 64 radio telescopes.
Asteroids have been hitting the Earth for billions of years. In 2022, we hit back.
DART is a test of the kinetic impactor technique, a potential method to deflect an asteroid on course to impact the Earth.
Japan's asteroid hoppers deliver new batch of incredible images
Pics of Ryugu's surface show loose piles of gravel strewn with larger rocks and boulders.
How LightSail and a NASA study helped pave the way for Mars-bound CubeSats
Two NASA CubeSats are approaching Mars — an impressive accomplishment for a concept many people regarded with derision just 15 years ago.
Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully drops rovers on asteroid Ryugu
The two small spacecraft are the size and shape of cheese wheels, and can autonomously hop around the surface.
The day I caught rocket fever
On February 6, 2018, I found myself shoulder to shoulder with two of my heroes: Bill Nye on the left, Buzz Aldrin on the right. Our eyes were fixed on the first vertical Falcon Heavy rocket. Figuring the world's most powerful rocket might send me flying backwards once the countdown hit zero, I gripped the railing so tightly I started to lose the feeling in my fingertips.
Programming note: Emily Lakdawalla speaking tour of New Zealand 23 September - 1 October
Attention Kiwi space fans! I’m embarking shortly on a speaking tour of New Zealand. I hope to meet lots of Planetary Society members and supporters, and sign a few copies of my book.
'Everything about this flyby is tougher': New Horizons just over 100 days from Ultima Thule
On Jan. 1, NASA's New Horizons will perform a high-risk, high-reward flyby of an ancient world on the outskirts of the solar system.
The September Equinox 2018 Issue of The Planetary Report Is Out!
With my first issue of The Planetary Report as editor, I am taking the magazine open-access. Return to Mercury features articles by Elsa Montagnon on BepiColombo and by Long Xiao on the Chang'e-4 and -5 landers.
Voyage to Mercury
Elsa Montagnon details the challenges of delivering BepiColombo’s two spacecraft from Earth to Mercury.
Farside Landing and Nearside Sample Return
Long Xiao previews two ambitious Chinese lunar missions, one of which will make the first-ever landing on the far side of the Moon.
Chandrayaan-2
Sriram Bhiravarasu anticipates India’s 2019 lunar venture with an orbiter, lander, and rover.
Why Start A Space Program?
Casey Dreier observes the genesis of a new space agency in Australia, and how The Planetary Society helped make it happen.



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