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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
The year in pictures: 2023
Looking back at 2023 through the eyes of spacecraft.
The Best of 2022
Announcing the winners of our Best of 2022 campaign!
Every Mars landing attempt as of June 2020
Two maps by The Planetary Society show all the places we've landed or crashed on Mars as of June 2020.
Video Chat From Outer Space With These Custom Wallpapers
Since some services like Zoom allow you to create virtual backgrounds, The Planetary Society offers you the opportunity to take your home office to Mars, or the Moon, or other fun places in space.
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.
Apollo 11 Little West Crater Panorama
Apollo 11’S landing on 20 July 1969 was the day humans first set foot on another world. For the risky, challenging endeavor, NASA sought a smooth landing site, one lacking craters or mountains.
Curiosity Gazes Upon Noctilucent Clouds Over Gale Crater
Wispy clouds of stunning beauty fly over Curiosity every evening.
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Images Beresheet Impact Site
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has successfully imaged the impact site of the Beresheet lander, which made a really good run at performing the first privately funded Moon landing on 11 April, but crashed after the failure of its main engine.
Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: Lesser-Known Luminaries
Award-winning astrophotographer Adam Block shares some of his latest images highlighting some hidden gems.
The subtle color difference between Uranus and Neptune
The color of Uranus and Neptune is similar, but not identical. Uranus appears greener and Neptune bluer.
Watch Hayabusa2's incredible touchdown on asteroid Ryugu
The spacecraft fired a bullet into the surface and unleashed a massive spray of debris.
Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: Hidden Gems
Award-winning astrophotographer Adam Block shares of his latest views of our universe.
Looking Back at MU69
A crescent view of MU69 reveals its bizarre shape. Let's look at lots of other fun-shaped space crescents.
Curiosity Update, Sols 2257-2312: Drilling at Rock Hall and Arrival at the Valley of Clay
Curiosity completed work at Vera Rubin Ridge with an easy drilling activity at Rock Hall. Now it has finally driven on to mineral-rick rocks that were seen from orbit, long before Curiosity arrived. The team plans a lengthy traverse of the clay-bearing unit.
Pretty Pictures of the Cosmos: Sensational Spirals
Award-winning astrophotographer Adam Block shares some of his latest galactic treasures.
Why are there no stars in most space images?
Look up at space at night from a dark location and you can see innumerable stars. Why, then, do photos of so many things in space show black space, devoid of stars?
A few new images of MU69
New Horizons is back in action after going quiet for a period of solar conjunction following the 1 January flyby of 2014 MU69 (informally nicknamed
MU69 appears as a bi-lobed baby comet in latest New Horizons images
The latest images downlinked from New Horizons show MU69 to be a textbook example of a contact binary. How do contact binaries form? Updated with images released on 3 January.
New Horizons fast approaching 2014 MU69
Unaffected by the shutdown of the U.S. government, New Horizons is still on course for its New Year’s encounter with 2014 MU69 (nicknamed “Ultima Thule”). This post collects the latest images from New Horizons' approach to the tiny Kuiper belt object and will be updated regularly.
New Cameras on Mars!
There was jubilation when InSight landed, but I'm just as happy to be writing about a distinct InSight event: The flow of raw images sent from Mars, straight to the Web, has begun.