Articles

Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.

Who gets to use JWST and what's it like?

There are only so many hours of telescope time available to unlock the secrets of the Universe.

How NASA will use helicopters to return samples from Mars in 2033

NASA's latest plans for its Mars Sample Return mission will rely on the Perseverance rover and two 'Ingenuity-class' helicopters.

Cloudy with a chance of life

Looking at the myriad possibilities that may exist within the clouds of Venus.

NASA's InSight mission is dying. Next could come the ‘Mars Life Explorer’

If there is Martian life then it could be in ice water under the red planet’s surface. The Mars Life Explorer, included in the most recent Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, would search for this.

Comets: big, beautiful, and surprisingly smelly

Get ready for one of the year’s best meteor showers, caused by one of the many intriguing comets of our Solar System.

Your Guide to Water on the Moon

Learn when we discovered lunar water, where it is, and how future missions will study it.

Rather remarkable robots

The robotic explorers of our Cosmos are truly impressive, as showcased by several spacecraft this week.

Sights beyond the visible

See images your eyes wouldn’t normally be able to see, and learn about what these images can teach you.

A space smorgasbord

Sample the best tidbits from space exploration this week, including news from across the Solar System and beyond, and personal insights from leaders of exploration.

Love at first sights

JWST’s stunning first science images

The Space Advocate Newsletter, July 2022

JWST's success will outshine its past troubles.

See JWST's amazing first science images

These are some of the first science images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), released on July 12, 2022.

See JWST’s first deep field image

Bill Nye's reflections on the first deep field image from NASA's JWST mission.

JWST versus Hubble: How are they different?

Unlike Hubble, JWST was primarily designed to see the universe in infrared light, revealing ancient galaxies, peering through nebulae, and uncovering exoplanet atmospheres.