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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Martian Ingenuity and Venusian imagination
Get a peek at the Martian moon and catch up on what the newest Mars explorer has been up to.
NASA Mission to Venus in 1978 May Have Detected Phosphine, a Gas Related to Life
The data come from NASA’s Pioneer Venus Multiprobe mission, which deployed a series of probes into the planet’s clouds.
The Quest for Life on Venus
Did scientists detect a signature of life in Venus' clouds? Or will the bombshell finding be proven false?
Life on Mars: Your Questions Answered
The Red Planet once had liquid water on the surface, and conditions that could have supported life.
Are the Universe's Smallest Stars Promising Places for Life?
Red dwarf stars are more common than our Sun. What are the prospects for life on exoplanets that orbit them?
Seeing, feeling, and imagining the cosmos
Explore space art created by members of The Planetary Society’s community, and learn about a possible alien signal.
Aliens at Proxima Centauri? A New Radio Signal Raises the Question
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, so here are the reasons why there may or may not be aliens in our cosmic backyard.
Planetary Society Reacts to Loss of Arecibo Observatory Radio Telescope
Arecibo helped us explore the cosmos and our solar system, search for life, and defend Earth from potentially dangerous asteroids.
How to stop microbes from hitching a ride to space
Learn about planetary protection for exploring other worlds and get caught up on the week’s space news.
Could there be life on Venus?
Explore exciting news in the search for life beyond Earth, and take a trip down memory lane with our co-founder.
Did Scientists Just Find Life on Venus? Here's How to Interpret the Phosphine Discovery
A Venusian biosignature, if confirmed, does not guarantee life, but it does represent a compelling argument for further exploration.
The Making of Life
Michael L. Wong asks how our understanding of the origin of life on Earth informs our search for it elsewhere.
This Thanksgiving, avoid the politics and talk space instead
If you're expecting to gather with extended family on Thanksgiving, avoid the politics. Here are some conversation starters to use at the dinner table that everyone can engage in.
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is getting a signal boost
It's all thanks to renewed interest from NASA and a private effort to scan the skies using an array of 64 radio telescopes.
#LPSC2018: Fungi in the lab, hot springs frozen cold, and exploding lakes
The first astrobiology session at last week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference featured talks on a huge variety of interesting topics, and was one of my favorite sessions at the meeting.
Creating a guidebook for Earth's hypothetical twin
Early Earth's atmosphere wasn't a place for humans. Yet the planet had microbial life—something we should keep in mind for exoplanets.
Reminder: The Giant Magellan Telescope is going to be awesome
The GMT will characterize Earth-size exoplanets' atmospheres, looking for compounds that indicate the presence of life.
Is There Anybody out There?
The Planetary Society has supported SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, practically since our founding in 1980. Learn the past, present, and future of SETI.
Doing SETI Better by Understanding Ourselves
One of the reasons SETI is hard is that we don’t know exactly what we are looking for, and part of that difficulty is that we still aren’t sure of who we are. An astronomer and an anthropologist team up to explore how cultural myopia shape what we can find in the cosmos.
Meet two astronaut candidates who can help NASA do science on other worlds
Two of NASA's new astronaut candidates are particularly suited to conduct scientific research on other worlds: Zena Cardman, a geobiologist, and Jessica Watkins, a geologist.