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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
We’re Building a Movement!
Today we launch a new expedition to engage our members in more ways than ever before. Since our inception, our members have supported The Planetary Society as we forge new paths in space science and exploration. You have always been at the center of our success and we want the structure of our membership program to reflect that by offering new benefits, premiums and payment options.
Rosetta end-of-mission plans: Landing site, time selected
ESA's comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft is nearing the end of its mission. Last week, ESA announced when and where Rosetta is going to touch down. And tomorrow, it will forever shut down the radio system intended for communicating with the silent Philae lander.
The Planetary Society at San Diego Comic-Con (UPDATED with video!)
Whether or not you're attending San Diego Comic-Con, you can enjoy a discussion panel with Emily Lakdawalla and five science fiction authors about the future of science fiction in the context of today's amazing scientific advances.
Multimedia recap: Two launches, a landing, a docking, and a berthing
Four days of cargo craft mania came to a close at the International Space Station this morning, as astronauts Kate Rubins and Jeff Williams snagged an approaching SpaceX Dragon vehicle and berthed it to the laboratory's Harmony module.
Horizon Goal: A new reporting series on NASA’s Journey to Mars
We're embarking on a multi-part series with the Huffington Post about the world's largest human spaceflight program. In part 1, we look at how the Columbia accident prompted NASA and the George W. Bush administration to create a new vision for space exploration.
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.
Cargo craft mania! A quick guide to four days of Dragon and Progress at the ISS
Two cargo spacecraft are heading to the International Space Station as part of a choreographed, four-day dance that begins this weekend. Here's a quick guide.
Mars 2020 rover rolls into final design and fabrication phase
NASA's next Mars rover is rolling off the drawing board and into its final design and fabrication phase, the agency announced today, during a televised event at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that highlighted some of the mission's technology.
Pluto is not the end
One year after the New Horizons Pluto flyby, Emily reflects on its significance.
Test stand glitch halts SLS engine firing in Mississippi
A test stand problem cut short today's test-firing of a Space Launch System development engine at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
Videos and updates: LightSail 2 shows off magnetic personality
It's been a few weeks since LightSail 2 passed its day-in-the-life test at Cal Poly. Here's a roundup of updates that were made in response to the test results, and a look at the project's next steps.
New Horizons Science Team Meeting Report
On July 6 at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, the science team convened at the place where Pluto was discovered. Ted Stryk reports from the meeting.
Jupiter's Clouds: A Primer
With Juno arriving at Jupiter, Justin Cowart gives us a lesson on the giant planet's varied cloud patterns.
Five years after Atlantis' last launch, five favorite stories about the shuttle program
On the five-year anniversary of the final space shuttle launch, Jason Davis shares five of his favorite stories about the program.
Oppositions, conjunctions, seasons, and ring plane crossings of the giant planets
When are the solstices and equinoxes on the giant planets, and when are they best positioned for view from Earth? I ask these questions a lot as I write about Earth photos of giant planets, and I finally decided to gather the answers to those questions in a single post.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Begins Final Science Campaign in Marathon Valley
The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission entered its 150th month of surface exploration in June as Opportunity began checking off the last science investigations in Marathon Valley, and the crew on Earth looked ahead to the future past.
That new Soyuz smell: Next ISS trio launches tonight aboard upgraded crew craft
Expedition 48 crewmembers Kate Rubins, Takuya Onishi and Anatoly Ivanishin begin a two-day trip to the International Space Station tonight aboard a newly upgraded Soyuz MS spacecraft.
Multimedia roundup: Flawless ride to orbit for Expedition 48 crew
Expedition 48 crewmembers Kate Rubins, Takuya Onishi and Anatoly Ivanishin are safely in orbit following an early morning launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Juno has arrived!
For a second time, NASA has placed a spacecraft into orbit at Jupiter. The spacecraft operated exactly according to plan, and Juno successfully entered orbit today, July 5, 2016, UTC
A peek at the JunoCam approach movie
We're now just about 12 hours away from Juno's Jupiter orbit insertion. As anticipation ramps up, NASA has released this sneak peek at JunoCam's approach movie, made of views of Jupiter and its largest moons shot during the final approach, up until about five days ago.