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Small BodiesStories, 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.
Rogue worlds and the boundaries of planethood
Exploring rogue planets, how they form, and how they expand our conception of what counts as a planet.
Which stars could host alien life?
Every star in the Universe creates a different environment for the worlds around it.
“We’re made of starstuff.” What does that mean?
Carl Sagan's famous quote is more than just poetic — it's true.
ESCAPADE launch: What to expect
NASA's ESCAPADE mission will send a pair of twin probes to Mars to study how the solar wind has stripped away the planet’s atmosphere, leaving behind the desolate surface we see today.
Our best proof of life on Mars yet? A deep dive into Cheyava Falls
A strange rock on Mars is different from anything we’ve seen before in the search for life.
What is comet 3I/ATLAS?
A roundup of key facts and surprising discoveries about the third known interstellar object.
A biosignature on Mars? Unpacking Perseverance's Cheyava Falls find
An interview with Joel Hurowitz of Stony Brook University, New York, one of the lead scientists involved in the discovery of possible biosignatures on Mars.
Where do 3I/ATLAS and other interstellar visitors come from?
Interstellar interlopers like 'Oumuamua and 3I/ATLAS could be our best bet at exploring other stars.
Studying a distant visitor: What we know about Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS
Key highlights from an interview with Dr. Bryce Bolin, lead author of a study on Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS.
NASA: Perseverance found possible biosignatures in Martian rock
NASA’s Perseverance rover has identified a potential sign of past life on Mars — not a definitive detection, but perhaps the most compelling hint yet.
Other Earths
Astronomers are closing in on planets that might be like our own.
The pale blue dot 35 years later
On its 35th anniversary, a reflection on what the pale blue dot means to us.
China eyes Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus in the hunt for habitability
China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory and the Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering have proposed an orbiter and lander mission to explore Enceladus with a key focus on the moon’s potential habitability.
When space rocks get too close for comfort
Some of the best-documented encounters Earthlings have had with asteroids and meteorites.
Why send people back to the Moon?
What can an astronaut do on the Moon that a robot can’t?
Ten years after Pluto, New Horizons faces a new threat
The newly proposed budget for NASA would shut down the spacecraft midflight.
How astronomers rank dangerous asteroids (and what that means for you)
A breakdown of the Torino scale, designed to give a quick sense of how worried you should be about an asteroid or comet.
Extraterrestrial lights
How other worlds experience auroras.
It's not magic; it's magnetic!
The magnetism behind spectacular phenomena.