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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
American R&D Policy and the Push for Small Planetary Missions at NASA
Planetary Society Policy Adviser Jason Callahan summarizes his paper he presented at the 2017 International Astronautical Congress in Australia, where he examined NASA's low-cost Discovery program and how federal policies directed at higher education initially bolstered planetary science into a viable field.
Planetary Society-funded telescopes help find ring around Haumea, a distant dwarf planet
Haumea has a ring! Two telescopes used in the discovery—one in Slovenia, and one in Italy—received funding from The Planetary Society's Shoemaker Near Earth Object (NEO) Grant program, which helps amateur astronomers find, track and characterize near-Earth asteroids.
NASA, international partners consider solar sail for Deep Space Gateway
A Canadian Space Agency proposal would install a solar sail on the outside of the Deep Space Gateway, a miniature space station in lunar orbit.
Planetary Society hosts space policy reception at Australian Embassy
This year’s International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is being held in Adelaide, Australia. Thanks to the generous support of our members, The Society’s advocacy and outreach capability is rapidly expanding, and we decided to step up our IAC advocacy this year.
A good time for solar sailing: LightSail 2 finds itself among friends
Is the quest for flight by light approaching a tipping point? Representatives from the NEA Scout, CubeSail and StarChip missions discuss how their spacecraft are advancing the art of solar sailing.
LightSail 2 updates: Prox-1 mission changes, new launch date
LightSail 2 and Prox-1 are expected to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy no earlier than April 30, 2018.
Did a Planetary Society citizen scientist help find one of Earth’s biggest impact craters?
Scientists have found what appears to be a 250-kilometer-wide crater near the Falkland Islands. Is it ground zero for Earth's largest-ever extinction event?
LightSail 2 partner spacecraft ships safely to New Mexico
Georgia Tech's Prox-1 spacecraft has arrived at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where it will be integrated with LightSail 2. The SmallSats will ride to orbit on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in December 2017 or later.
Old documents shine new light on NASA's plan to send a solar sail to Halley's Comet
The Planetary Society's LightSail project has roots in a late-1970s NASA plan to send a giant solar sail spacecraft to Halley's Comet. Now, a cache of archival documents adds new depth to the audacious plan.
Our asteroid hunters are trying to save the world. Here’s what they’ve been up to
Here are some recent reports from our NEO Shoemaker Grant program asteroid observers, who are quite literally trying to save the world.
Signed, sealed but not delivered: LightSail 2 awaits ship date
Following a pre-ship review at Planetary Society headquarters, LightSail 2 is ready to be integrated with its Prox-1 partner spacecraft. The final shipping schedule, however, has yet to be determined.
Solar sailing in Japan: 10 questions for LightSail engineer Barbara Plante
Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye and LightSail systems engineer Barbara Plante recently traveled to Japan for a solar sailing symposium. Our Q&A with Plante discusses everything from CubeSat attitude control systems to robotic giraffes in Tokyo.
See LightSail at the London Science Museum
The London Science Museum, one of the world’s leading science centers, has welcomed our citizen-funded spacecraft into its halls.
Want to build on our LightSail work? Here are some resources to get started
The Planetary Society is launching a new webpage showcasing LightSail academic papers, schematics, parts and imagery.
Ground finale? Deployment test moves LightSail 2 closer to handoff
LightSail 2 successfully demonstrated all of its critical functions during what may have been the CubeSat's final end-to-end systems test at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Alan Stern & New Horizons Team Receive Cosmos Award
Alan Stern and the New Horizons mission team are the newest recipients of The Planetary Society's Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science.
LightSail 2 update roundup: Testing, delivery and a new animation in the works
LightSail 2 and Prox-1 are expected to meet for integration by the end of the year. Here's an update roundup, including a sneak peek of new animations and the abstract from a recently accepted paper on the spacecraft's attitude control system.
Back to school: LightSail 2 and Prox-1 provide unique experience for university students
From Cal Poly to Georgia Tech, university students working on SmallSat projects gain critical real-world spaceflight experience, preparing them for promising careers in the space industry.
We’re building the STEAM Team!
We know, as well as you do, that if we want to see a great future – one where humans explore, understand, and benefit from space – we need to invest right now in the people who will be leading the way. To empower the world’s youth, we need to educate them. And to educate them, we need to inspire them.
Listen Up! Microphones to Fly to Mars
The Mars 2020 mission will carry microphones in its EDL package and its SuperCam instrument, which will enable us to finally hear the sounds of Mars. The Planetary Society has been trying to get microphones to Mars for 20 years and is ecstatic that these will fly.