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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Thursday Funpost! Excerpts from the new book Rocket Billionaires
Did you know NASA required SpaceX to carry life insurance for Elon Musk?
#LPSC2018: Collaborative notes from conference sessions
At last week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, I tried a new experiment: collaborating with other attendees to take a shared set of notes.
How the heck did NASA (and science) get such a good 2018 budget?
Congress outright rejected most of the Trump administration's controversial science cuts.
JWST heads once more unto the breach, dear friends
The James Webb Space Telescope will miss its target launch date and cost more money than expected, NASA announced.
Tiangong-1: How to follow the space lab's decaying orbit and reentry
With the space station likely to fall on April Fool's Day, it's important to know whom to follow for reliable information.
#LPSC2018: An Apollo 17 session with moonwalker Jack Schmitt
The only geoscientist to walk on the Moon attended a conference session presenting results from the rocks he collected.
#MoonMon: Io's pretty plumes
On this Moon Monday, I'm featuring an animation processed by Gordan Ugarkovic, showing Jupiter's volcanic moon Io with its prominent plumes.
#LPSC2018: Mars mass wasting in the laboratory
Mars today is a dynamic place. One visually dramatic sign of change on Mars is
NASA wins big in 2018 budget deal
With the passage of the 2018 spending bill, NASA just got its best budget since 2009. Europa, Earth Science, and a new Mobile Launcher are winners in the $20.7 billion just approved for the space program.
Funpost! The transportation of humans to foreign planets
For this week's Funpost, Jason answers 11 questions about humans exploring Mars.
#LPSC2018: Titan Is Terrific!
Emily's first report from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference is on the solar system's most atmospheriffic satellite, Saturn's moon Titan.
Book Review: The Space Barons
A new book focuses on the eccentric leaders of SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic.
LightSail 2 doubles the fun with double integrations
LightSail 2 is integrated in Prox-1! It's another important step toward launch day.
Moon Monday: Looking back at the Moon from Apollo 17
For this Moon Monday, Emily digs up a classic from the end of the Apollo program.
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the Moon!
Karen James visited a local preschool to share her love for space with a pre-Kindergarten class.
#LPSC2018: A full week of planetary science
It's time for the 49th annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), a geology-focused meeting of planetary scientists. Here's a preview, and a call for help from attendees. I'll be presenting at two lunchtime workshops.
Throwback Thursday Funpost! That time I created work for the ISS crew
An important American flag is lost and found aboard the International Space Station.
Bill Nye and Prime Minister Trudeau talk Canada's future in space
The Planetary Society will be at the planning table when Canada's space community regroups after the latest budget release.
Automating Science on Mars
Since 2016, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has had the ability to choose its own science targets using an onboard intelligent targeting system called AEGIS.
The 2018 Gene Shoemaker NEO Grant Recipients
In 2018, The Planetary Society awarded $59,300 as part of its Gene Shoemaker Near Earth Object (NEO) Grant Program. The grants were made to a group of international researchers to find, track, and characterize potentially hazardous NEOs.