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March Equinox 2025

Your place in space

An enduring mission: Celebrating 45 years of The Planetary Society

By Bill Nye, Planetary Society CEO 

This year, The Planetary Society celebrates our 45th anniversary. Nearly a half-century ago, Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman founded this organization with clear goals: to prove that there was popular support for the exploration of the Solar System and beyond and to create opportunities for the public to get involved. Today, our mission remains the same; we’re still at it. 

Looking back on all that has happened since 1980, it’s astonishing to consider how far we’ve come, not just as a Society but as a species of explorers.

When The Planetary Society was founded, humanity’s exploration of the Solar System was already underway. Humans had walked on the Moon. We’d landed extraordinary spacecraft on the surface of Mars. We had sent the Pioneer and the Voyager missions into the outer Solar System. Still, the progress we’ve made in those 45 years has been remarkable.

Humans, via our robotic envoys, have now explored every planet in the Solar System and its largest dwarf planets. We’ve driven rovers through ancient riverbeds on Mars and landed on Saturn’s moon Titan. We’ve discovered unexpected ocean moons and thousands of exoplanets. We have a spacecraft on its way to Jupiter’s moon Europa to sniff around for organic molecules. The twin Voyagers have even entered interstellar space.

Through it all, The Planetary Society has been a champion of exploration, ensuring missions get the funding they need and that the public knows about the discoveries they make. Our STEP and Shoemaker grants are actively advancing space exploration and keeping Earth safe from potential asteroid impacts. We’ve grown and engaged a global community of members and supporters who share a passion for discovery. We have been influential in advocating for space, helping to ensure that government decision-makers understand the value of investing in exploration. And today, I’m proud to say that The Planetary Society is the best it’s ever been. We remain the world’s largest independent pro-space organization, an increasingly rare entity in an industry dominated by corporate and government interests. 

As we mark 45 years of progress, I want to celebrate not only how far we’ve come but also the role that members like you have played in making it possible. As you’ll read about later in this issue, we completed our ambitious Beyond the Horizon comprehensive fundraising campaign in support of our strategic framework Space for Everyone. Collectively, over the past five years of our campaign, you all helped raise an astounding $40 million to support the future of this organization and the work we do together.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Here’s to the next 45 years of exploration, discovery, and wonder.

Onward,
Bill Nye

Members on deck

Space trivia

Are you a space trivia whiz? Test your knowledge with these trivia questions submitted by Planetary Society members. To see if you got the answers right, go to planetary.org/trivia. 

Read on for a trivia question from our chief scientist later in the magazine. And if you want to flex your space trivia skills even more, check out the weekly trivia contest in The Planetary Society’s online member community. Log in at community.planetary.org and look for “Trivia!” on the left-hand menu.

Question #1 

Which spacecraft was the first to successfully land on Mars and send back images to Earth? — Christopher Dedman-Rollet, USA

Question #2

Three real-life astronauts for NASA also served aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise on “Star Trek”: two on the original ship (NX-01 from “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and one on the Enterprise-D (from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”). Can you name them all? And for a bonus point, can you tell us what else those three NASA astronauts have in common (other than being cool NASA astronauts who were also on “Star Trek”)? — Mel Powell, USA

Question #3

What is the total number of astronauts who have landed on the Moon? — Ricky Gonzalez Flores, USA

Question #4

Who was the pioneering female astronomer whose meticulous research allowed her to define the “standard candle” with which to measure vast cosmological distances, thereby proving conclusively that Andromeda was a galaxy far outside of the Milky Way? — Graham Mackintosh, USA

Question #5

Which spacecraft has been out as far as Jupiter’s orbit without going near that planet? — David Frankis, United Kingdom

Question #6

Which mission proved Murphy’s Law is universal by landing on a planetary surface with a penetrometer to measure soil compressibility but instead measured the compressibility of one of the lander’s camera’s lens caps that had been ejected onto the surface? — Allan Tarr, Canada

Question #7

In what way does Dragonfly’s wind tunnel testing differ critically from other wind tunnel testing? — Bob Ware, USA

From the chief scientist

A cosmic roundup from The Planetary Society’s chief scientist

By Bruce Betts, Planetary Society Chief Scientist

In the sky

In March, bright Jupiter is in the western sky in the evening. It gets closer to the horizon as the weeks pass until it is very hard to see in June. Reddish Mars is very high in the sky in the evening. Watch it dim gradually as Mars and Earth grow farther apart in their orbits. Super-bright Venus and yellowish Saturn will start rising in the predawn east in April and grow higher over time. Soon after sunset, Mercury will be visible low to the west from mid-June into July. There is a partial solar eclipse on March 29 visible from eastern Canada and northern and western Europe. For more night sky tips, you can always check out planetary.org/night-sky.

Random space fact

The surface area of Jupiter’s moon Europa is approximately equal to the area of Africa. To equal the surface area of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System, you would need not only Africa but all of Asia and Europe in addition.

Trivia contest

Our September Equinox contest winner is David Lee Summers of Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA. Congratulations! The question was: What type of celestial object, when the first one was discovered, was nicknamed LGM-1, standing for Little Green Men-1? The answer: The first pulsar, due to the time regularity of the pulsing radio signal coming from it. 

Try to win a copy of the new book “Mars: The Red Planet with The Planetary Society” by Bruce Betts and a Planetary Radio T-shirt by answering this question: What was the last mission to fly by Jupiter on its way to somewhere else?

Email your answer to [email protected] or mail your answer to The Planetary Report, 60 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101. Make sure you include the answer and your name, mailing address, and email address (if you have one). By entering this contest, you are authorizing The Planetary Report to publish your name and hometown. Submissions must be received by June 1, 2025. One entry per person. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing from among all the correct entries received.

Space art

"Orbit"

This print by artist and Planetary Society supporter Anna Moore, titled “Orbit,” shows a repeating pattern of spacecraft around our planet. 

“Orbit” captures the role of technology in space science and exploration. From advanced AI to basic nuts and bolts, every element that allows us to reach out into the Cosmos is designed and built by humans. Although exploration is a human endeavor, it is carried out by technologies we create.

This art piece is also a feat of technology. Anna made a digital illustration based on real spacecraft images, then laser-engraved the illustration onto a wood block to make a print.

Do you want to see your artwork here? We love to feature our members throughout this magazine. Send your original, space-related artwork to [email protected].

Society notes

Your member community

If you haven’t already logged in, be sure to check out The Planetary Society’s online member community. This is a virtual environment tailored to the interests of our members, away from the bots and trolls of social media. Here are some highlights of what you’ll find when you visit community.planetary.org: 

• Connect with space enthusiasts from around the world
• Talk to space experts in virtual webinars
• Share artwork and astrophotography
• Join virtual book club meetings
• Take in-depth online courses on topics you’ll love, including stargazing, space policy and advocacy, and the search for life

Fundraising Success!

Thank you to all the members and supporters who took us beyond the horizon with your support for our year-end fundraising appeal, raising over $325,000 to support the Society’s mission to advance space science and exploration. We are especially grateful to our board of directors, an anonymous donor, and CEO Bill Nye for their generous matching gift challenges that inspired support from Giving Tuesday to the last day of the year and beyond.

A 45th anniversary member event

Join us for a cosmic adventure as we set sail for the stars! We’re celebrating a very special occasion: The Planetary Society’s 45th anniversary. 

All members are cordially invited to a special lecture, gala dinner, and awards presentation from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 5, 2025, hosted aboard the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. 

Venture beyond the shores of our cosmic ocean for an extraordinary evening celebrating 45 years of pioneering space exploration. Join Master of Ceremonies Robert Picardo and embark on an elegant gathering featuring enlightening talks from distinguished speakers, recognition of outstanding achievements through our prestigious awards ceremony, and an exclusive silent auction offering unique space-related treasures. Immerse yourself in an atmosphere of wonder and discovery, complemented by sophisticated cuisine and celestial melodies as we honor our legacy and envision the fascinating journey ahead. 

In the words of one of our founders, Carl Sagan, “Never again will the planets be mere wandering points of light ... they will forever after be worlds crying out for exploration and discovery.” See you on board! 

Go to planetary.org/anniversary to learn more.