Articles

Richard Chute

LightSail 2’s launch window opens on June 22, and we are finalizing plans for our launch viewing celebrations. Once we have finished coordinating the details with the Air Force’s STP-2 mission team and the Kennedy Space Center, we will share them with all of our members and backers so that you can join us in person or remotely via the internet.

Jason Davis

The Planetary Society's solar sail spacecraft will lift off 22 June 2019 on a mission to demonstrate the power of sunlight for propulsion.

Jason Davis

The Planetary Society's solar sailing CubeSat is officially on the road to launch.

Bruce Betts

Our grants fund amateur observers, underfunded professional observers, and observers in developing countries who make vital contributions to NEO research.

Jason Davis

Each year, we ask our Shoemaker NEO Grant winners to help us tell the world about their work. Here's what they said.

Jason Davis

SpaceX also went three-for-three on booster landings, marking another milestone for its Falcon Heavy rocket.

Jeffrey R. Johnson

Jeff Johnson files a report from ROASTT, the Rover Operations Activities for Science Team Training.

Jason Davis

The work builds on a Planetary Society-sponsored test and paves the way for an ambitious expedition in Greenland this year.

Richard Chute

The tradition of giving to charities like The Planetary Society at year’s end often brings up questions about how to make those gifts, as well as their tax implications.

Jim Bell

After a more-than-four-year adventure, the flight Mars 2020 rover Mastcam-Z cameras have been fully assembled!

Jason Davis

An Air Force official says an ‘initial launch capability’ is being reassessed.

Jason Davis

It's all thanks to renewed interest from NASA and a private effort to scan the skies using an array of 64 radio telescopes.

Jason Davis

Two NASA CubeSats are approaching Mars — an impressive accomplishment for a concept many people regarded with derision just 15 years ago.

MaryLiz Bender

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.

Jason Davis

The names were collected by the Society in 2013, and are stored on target markers that will be dropped on the asteroid.

Jason Davis

LightSail 2's ride to space won't happen until at least November 30, as SpaceX works through a list of other payloads in line to fly first.

Darian Dixon

Mastcam-Z will help the Mars 2020 rover explore the surface of Mars. Dozens of amazing scientists and engineers from across the globe contribute to the development of Mastcam-Z. This year, the team photo was taken with our very own Mastcam-Z testbed unit.

Jason Davis

The LightSail 2 team gathered in Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for a Mission Readiness Review (MRR) and Operational Readiness Test (ORT).

Jason Davis

A global team of astronomers has found a rare type of asteroid, where two equal-mass objects circle each other in a never-ending dance as they hurtle through the solar system.

Jason Davis

A little-known observatory is s helping usher an Arab astronomy renaissance.