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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Europa Clipper: A mission backed by advocates
Europa Clipper will soon head for Jupiter's icy, potentially habitable moon. Without the advocacy efforts of The Planetary Society and our members, the mission may never have been possible.
Where Congress Stands on NASA's 2025 budget
Weeks before the new fiscal year, Congress still hasn't finalized NASA's 2025 budget.
A billion dollars short: A progress report on the Planetary Decadal Survey
NASA is underfunding planetary exploration relative to recommendations made by the National Academies Decadal Survey report, resulting in mission delays and cancelations.
Why NASA does space science and not the private sector
With all the advances in private space exploration, why do taxpayers still pay for space science missions?
For parts: Lunar rover, never used
NASA has canceled VIPER, a rover designed to seek out water ice and other resources in the lunar south pole.
The House's 2025 NASA Budget Creates Problems for Science, Artemis
The House would provide a 1% increase to NASA while shifting funding toward larger programs, leaving significant budgetary holes in smaller programs.
What are competed planetary missions?
A critical part of a balanced exploration program, competed missions are scientist-led projects that cost less and occur more frequently than large, flagship-class missions.
NASA's FY 2025 budget request is not enough
Federal spending caps and inflation take a bite out of NASA's ambitions.
The Planetary Society advocacy priorities in NASA’s final 2024 budget
Funding for the Near-Earth Object Surveyor, support for VERITAS, and a second lease on life for Mars Sample Return were all included in the final congressional budget for NASA in 2024.
Can SpaceX’s Starship save Mars Sample Return?
Though promising conceptually, Starship presents more questions than answers for NASA's Mars Sample Return needs.
The path forward for Mars Sample Return
A brief summary of The Planetary Society's policy principles and recommendations for Mars Sample Return.
How layoffs at JPL can be traced to a stalemate in Congress
A battle over the future of Mars Sample Return is taking a toll on NASA’s workforce.
The U.S. Senate threatens to cancel Mars Sample Return
The House has yet to weigh in. And much can still happen before this threat is realized.
What’s going on with Mars Sample Return?
NASA's biggest science project is undergoing an unprecedented second independent review amidst growing cost estimates and daunting technical and managerial challenges.
2023 Digital Day of Action recap
The Planetary Society's all-virtual advocacy event was a success, with more than 1,500 advocacy actions taken.
The Planetary Society, American Geophysical Union, and Prominent Academic Institutions Call on Congress to Save VERITAS Mission to Venus
In a joint effort led by The Planetary Society, major organizations and academic institutions are calling on Congress to save the Venus Emissivity, Radio science, InSAR, Topography And Spectroscopy (VERITAS) mission by establishing a 2029 launch date, a 2-year delay from the original baseline schedule.
Why we need VERITAS
NASA's first mission to Venus in decades is in danger. This is why VERITAS is worth saving.
NASA’s 2024 budget proposal is pretty good, but it faces political headwinds
The requested $27.2 billion would keep all major human and robotic initiatives going forward, though most of it would be offset by inflation.
Why we need the NEO Surveyor space telescope
A space-based solution like NEO Surveyor will find more asteroids, more quickly, than any ground-based alternative. Combined with deflection technology, this gives humanity a chance to alter its fate should a threatening asteroid be found early enough.
NEO Surveyor is confirmed
After nearly two decades of consideration, NASA made a formal commitment to NEO Surveyor, an asteroid-hunting space telescope.