Explore Worlds
Find Life
Defend Earth
All
All
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Calendar of space events 2025
Space missions, rocket launches, and celestial events are coming our way in 2025.
Mars’ enduring role in the search for life
New discoveries underscore why we must keep exploring the red planet.
The year in pictures
The sights of space from the past 12 months.
Mars may host oceans’ worth of water deep underground
The tentative discovery hints at an habitat where life could potentially thrive.
Eureka? Scientists’ first hints of life on other planets may not be so obvious
Knowing that you've found signs of life beyond Earth may not be as clear-cut and simple as one might think.
NASA discovers Mars rock with ancient potential for life
A single 3.5 billion-year-old rock shows signs of all the conditions life needs to thrive.
Challenges facing the human exploration of Mars
From the dangers of radiation to the complications of landing a crewed spacecraft, there are myriad technical challenges facing human exploration of Mars.
Europe goes to Mars
NASA and ESA have signed a partnership agreement to get the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover down to the surface of Mars, getting the mission back on track after geopolitical factors delayed it.
What are planets made of?
A look at the compositions of terrestrial planets, gas giants, and ice giants in our Solar System.
The best places to search for life in our Solar System
From Earth's neighboring planets to distant moons, these are the best places to look for alien life.
What went wrong with Mars Sample Return
An edited transcript of an interview with Orlando Figueroa, chair of the independent review team that evaluated NASA's Mars Sample Return program.
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.
The best pictures of Mars from space
Spacecraft have been taking pictures of Mars from space since 1965. Here are some of our favorites.
Storms and showers
Mars has storms of dust, while Saturn pours down ammonia rain. Here on Earth, we passed through a debris tail to get a special kind of shower.
Hasta la vista, baby
Terminators abound this week in space, and we’ll be back to Mars if NASA gets the budget it needs.
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.
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.
Have a nice flight!
Flying on Titan is easy, but not as easy as flying on Deimos. Plus, Juice takes off and Ingenuity captures a view from the air.
Rocket flight and the five dwarfs
Meet the Solar System’s five official dwarf planets, celebrate two major launches, and find out why planets sometimes seem to go backwards across the sky.