Articles

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

Calendar of space events 2026

Space missions, rocket launches, and celestial events are coming our way in 2026.

New NASA budget would shut down 41 space missions

Proposed NASA cuts would cancel dozens of space missions — including spacecraft already paid for, launched, and making discoveries.

A possible sign of life on K2-18b? Here’s what it means — and why it's just the beginning

If dimethyl-sulfide truly exists on the planet K2-18 b, it could be a huge milestone in the search for life.

Earthlings as aliens

Looking at life on Earth from another perspective.

Meet the Habitable Worlds Observatory, NASA’s life-seeking telescope

The observatory will directly image Earth-size exoplanets circling other stars.

NASA's FY 2025 budget request is not enough

Federal spending caps and inflation take a bite out of NASA's ambitions.

Uranus' biggest unsolved mysteries

Distant, icy Uranus has puzzled scientists for decades. From its sideways spin to its mysterious magnetic field, the oddball world has many secrets waiting to be revealed.

Why the true colors of the planets aren't what you think

Cameras on our space probes act as proxies for our own eyes, but what they see isn't necessarily what our eyes would see.

Looking for long waves

Why JWST observes in the infrared.

See for yourself

See the month’s coolest space pictures, see planets in the night sky, and create the future in space that you want to see.

That’s a mare

An unusual lunar feature, Saturn’s shining rings, and Mars’ complex gullies.

Speedy spacecraft and pretty pics

Take a look at some of our favorite recent space images and learn about an express mission to Mars.

Searching the skies to keep us all alive

Astronomers around the world are working to protect the Earth from asteroid impacts, with the help of Planetary Society members and donors.

Day and night, it’s all about starlight

This week in space: Mars days almost match up with ours, and light and molecules are created by distant stars.

The scientific truth is out there

The real science of aliens, the policy implications of ET, and new views of worlds beyond our own.

Would you like some salty water with your space salad?

Two new grant-winning projects, a collection of awesome space imagery, a mighty plume, and much more this week in space.

Want more space? Speak up!

Detailed Mars maps, insights into the Venusian surface, and views of Uranian rings all have one thing in common: they don’t happen without public support for space.