Articles

The Downlink

Exploration is teaching us a lot about the cosmos, and a lot about how much we still don’t know.

The Downlink

This week we're all about the rocky planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.

The Downlink

Get a peek at the Martian moon and catch up on what the newest Mars explorer has been up to.

Nancy Atkinson

The data come from NASA’s Pioneer Venus Multiprobe mission, which deployed a series of probes into the planet’s clouds.

Ted Stryk

In 1975 and 1982, 4 of the Soviet Union’s Venera probes captured our only images of Venus’ surface.

Nancy Atkinson

Did scientists detect a signature of life in Venus' clouds? Or will the bombshell finding be proven false?

The Planetary Society

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.

Javier Peralta

Javier Peralta plumbs the depths of Venus’ atmosphere through the eyes of the Venus Express and Akatsuki orbiters.

Emily Lakdawalla

A new issue of The Planetary Report brings you our pride in the success of LightSail 2 and our gratitude to our members for making it happen. Plus Venus science from Akatsuki and Venus Express, and the status of planetary defense.

Emily Lakdawalla

BepiColombo's launch was nominal -- the best thing any launch can be. Following launch, the spacecraft documented successful solar array and antenna deployments with self-portraits.

Emily Lakdawalla

I’m thrilled to be anticipating the beginning of a new mission to Mercury. Here's a timeline for BepiColombo's planned launch on 20 October (19 October in the U.S.).

Elsa Montagnon

Elsa Montagnon details the challenges of delivering BepiColombo’s two spacecraft from Earth to Mercury.

Emily Lakdawalla

With my first issue of The Planetary Report as editor, I am taking the magazine open-access. Return to Mercury features articles by Elsa Montagnon on BepiColombo and by Long Xiao on the Chang'e-4 and -5 landers.

Emily Lakdawalla

A Mercury meeting held May 1-3 summarized the current and future science of the innermost planet. Emily Lakdawalla was there and shares her notes.

Damia Bouic

Amateur image processor Damia Bouic shares a plethora of stunning new images of Venus captured by a Japanese spacecraft.

Emily Lakdawalla

Three launches to the Moon and one each to Mercury and Mars; two arrivals at near-Earth asteroids; and an approach to an encounter with a distant Kuiper belt object are highlights we anticipate in 2018.

Jason Davis

Next year, a pair of probes head to Mercury to answer outstanding questions about our innermost planet, as well as the formation of the solar system.

Steven Hauck

2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of what has become one of the primary venues for the publication of research in planetary science: the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. This occasion is a good opportunity to look back at what we have learned in this era of expanded exploration and to try to take a peek at the future.

Emily Lakdawalla

This month we'll finally see JunoCam's first high-resolution images of Jupiter. We'll also see OSIRIS-REx making progress toward its September 8 launch. Both rovers are road-tripping at Mars, while ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has completed a major mid-course correction ahead of its October arrival.

Emily Lakdawalla

Japan's Akatsuki Venus orbiter is well into its science mission, and has already produced surprising science results. The mission, originally planned to last two years, could last as many as five, monitoring Venus' atmosphere over the long term.