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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Asteroids worth getting psyched about
New discoveries from Ryugu, material heading our way from Bennu, and anticipation for a mission to Psyche.
LightSail 2 Sails On!
The Planetary Society’s crowdfunded LightSail 2 spacecraft is going strong and still making history.
Seeking Small Worlds
A spacecraft leaves one asteroid as planetary defense experts turn to others.
Carl Sagan’s wisdom and vision, and how far we’ve come since his time
Even Sagan would be amazed by multitudes we now know our cosmos may hold. Learn more, plus get your scoop on the week’s space news.
A space spookfest
Catch up on news from across the ghoul-axy and beyond.
Sample acquired! And: is your name in space?
Get the full scoop on Bennu and Venus, and get yourself the most cosmic face mask out there.
High-fiving Bennu and slingshotting Venus
Get ready for OSIRIS-REx’s upcoming sample collection and share your gift ideas for space lovers.
Your Guide to the OSIRIS-REx sample collection
NASA's OSIRIS-REx successfully collected a sample from asteroid Bennu on 20 October 2020.
Sample Return Roundup
It's a banner year for sample return missions. In 2020, China, Japan, and the United States are all scheduled to have sample return missions in flight, seeking to retrieve material from near-Earth asteroids, the Moon, and eventually Mars.
The Next 10 Years
Six scientists share the major planetary science discoveries of the past decade, and the questions that will drive the next 10 years of solar system exploration.
OSIRIS-REx Team Picks 4 Candidate Sample Sites on Asteroid Bennu
The sites each have unique characteristics that would advance the field of asteroid science.
OSIRIS-REx Sets Low-Orbit Record, Enters New Orbital B Mission Phase
Last week, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample-return mission announced that they had achieved an orbit above asteroid Bennu with an altitude of only 680 meters. Now they are surveying for landing sites and have invited the public's help.
Treasure Hunting With Hayabusa2
IN THE EARLY hours of 22 February, light was just beginning to brighten the campus of JAXA’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences (ISAS) in Kanagawa, Japan. It should have been a quiet time, but the Hayabusa2 control room was packed with people. We were about to land on an asteroid.
Here's a Roundup of Recent OSIRIS-REx Postcards from Bennu
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is currently sweeping arcs between the asteroid's north and south poles.
OSIRIS-REx stable in Bennu orbit, team refines sample collection plans
The team has yet to find a Bennu sample site that matches their pre-arrival expectations, meaning their plans will probably have to change.
News brief: OSIRIS-REx arrives in orbit at Bennu
Today at 19:43 UTC, OSIRIS-REx entered orbit at asteroid Bennu. In so doing, it accomplished both the tightest orbit (at an altitude under 2 kilometers) and the orbit of the smallest object ever. UPDATE: Early science results from OSIRIS-REx discussed at New Horizons MU69 flyby event.
Flying By Home
Vicky Hamilton explores how OSIRIS-REx used its Earth flyby to test instruments on the way to asteroid Bennu.
News brief: OSIRIS-REx finds water on Bennu
OSIRIS-REx team members held a press briefing today at the 2018 American Geophysical Union meeting, and announced that the mission has already found water on asteroid Bennu.
"We have arrived!" OSIRIS-REx is officially at asteroid Bennu
After a 2-billion-kilometer journey that began in September 2016, NASA's OSIRS-REx spacecraft has arrived at Bennu.
Spitzer Space Telescope Observations of Bennu
What can studying the thermal emission of Bennu with the Spitzer Space Telescope tell us about its physical properties?