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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: Distant Galaxies
Astrophotographer Adam Block shares stunning his images of far-away spiral galaxies.
InSight's Problems: Possible Impacts
Van Kane details the potential repercussions of the launch delay of InSight Mars lander on the rest of NASA's Discovery mission program.
NASA's Next Mars Mission Delayed for Two Years
A problem with the French space agency's seismometer instrument will delay NASA's InSight Mars lander by two years.
December solstice: Viewing Earth's seasonal shifts from space
It's fun to watch the seasons shift from space, and as of this year we have new ways to do that.
For the first time ever, a Curiosity Mastcam self-portrait from Mars
In a remarkable and wholly unexpected gift to Curiosity fans, the rover has just taken the first-ever color Mastcam self-portrait from Mars.
Pluto updates from AGU and DPS: Pretty pictures from a confusing world
Pluto is reluctant to give up its secrets. Last week at the American Geophysical Union meeting I attended sessions featuring results from the New Horizons mission, and most of the presentations could be summed up thusly: the data sets are terrific, but there are still a lot of Pluto features that have scientists scratching their heads.
Spacewalkers Unstick Cart ahead of Cargo Ship Arrival
NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra successfully completed a spacewalk to free a stuck Mobile Transporter cart outside the International Space Station.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Returns to Flight, Sticks Landing at Cape Canaveral
SpaceX returned its Falcon 9 rocket to flight with flair tonight, successfully deploying 11 communications satellites after returning the rocket's first stage to Cape Canaveral for an upright landing.
OSIRIS-REx Completes Mechanical Environmental Testing
The OSIRIS-REx team successfully and safely completed sine vibration (sine vibe) testing on the spacecraft prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. The sine vibe tests are designed to verify the system performs as expected after being exposed to flight-like low frequency vibration input.
Rail-riding ISS Cart Jams, Prompting Contingency Spacewalk Plans
A rail-riding cart weighing nearly a metric ton jammed while moving along the International Space Station's exterior yesterday, prompting ground controllers in Houston to prepare for an unscheduled spacewalk.
Curiosity stories from AGU: The fortuitous find of a puzzling mineral on Mars, and a gap in Gale's history
Yesterday at the American Geophysical Union meeting, the Curiosity science team announced the discovery of a mineral never before found on Mars. The finding was the result of a fortuitous series of events, but as long as Curiosity's instruments continue to function well, it's the kind of discovery that Curiosity should now be able to repeat.
[Updated] An Extraordinary Budget for NASA in 2016
Congress's plan to fund the U.S. government in 2016 includes a stellar $1.3 billion increase for NASA over last year, nearly $730 million above the President's request.
Worth the wait: First public release of Rosetta science camera images of comet 67P
Finally! It has been a long wait, but so worth it: the Rosetta OSIRIS science camera team has delivered the first pile of data from the rendezvous with comet 67P to ESA's Planetary Science Archive. I have spent a good chunk of the last three days playing with the data, and it's spectacular.
Our Global Volunteers: December 2015 Update
As 2015 wraps up, The Planetary Society celebrates yet another year of public outreach.
LightSail Program Wraps Busy Year with Test Readiness Review
On Monday, LightSail engineers and mission managers met at The Planetary Society's Pasadena, California headquarters to prepare for a rigorous suite of spacecraft tests that are expected to begin in January.
New Crew Arrives at ISS following Docking Drama
Following a picture-perfect launch and some last minute docking drama, Tim Kopra, Tim Peake and Yuri Malenchenko arrived safely to the International Space Station today.
Planetary Deep Drill Field Test: Road Trip
The Planetary Deep Drill is being tested in a California gypsum mine. Several Planetary Society staff took a road trip to visit the ongoing Honeybee Robotics test of this prototype robotic drill that could one day drill hundreds of meters into planetary ices.
A Rosetta OSIRIS picture of comet 67P that's only hours old
ESA announced today a new website at which the OSIRIS team will now be releasing images on a regular basis -- at least one per week -- and they will be recent. Even better news, all OSIRIS data taken through September 16, 2014 has been handed to ESA and its release is expected next week.
Expedition 45 Crew Makes Nighttime Landing in Kazakhstan
Three International Space Station crewmembers are safely back on Earth following a post-sunset Soyuz touchdown in Kazakhstan.
Akatsuki's new orbit, first images, and science plans
JAXA had a press briefing today to confirm the successful arrival of Akatsuki into Venus orbit. It's been a long time coming: today's announcement came twelve years to the day after Japan had to abandon efforts to put Nozomi into Mars orbit. They released lovely images and discussed future plans.