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March Equinox 2026

Your place in space

The next chapter begins

By Bill Nye, Planetary Society Chief Ambassador 

After 15 years at the top of the org chart, I’m stepping down — or aside. I’m retiring from my role as CEO, but I’m thrilled to continue serving in a new role as our first chief ambassador. As we enter the start of our next strategic era, this feels like the right moment for transition — for the staff, for our members, and for me. 

Our remarkable chief operating officer Jennifer Vaughn took over as CEO in February. Throughout my time as executive director and later as chief executive officer, Jenn has been my closest partner in leading the organization. This transition will be smooth indeed. There is no one in the Solar System more qualified than Jenn. She knows this place and the people who help keep it running. She will lead us into The Planetary Society’s sixth decade. 

As you may know, my time with the Society started when I took an undergraduate class from none other than Carl Sagan in the spring of 1977. When The Planetary Society was founded in 1980, I became a charter member. Years later, Carl’s kids watched my Science Guy show, and Planetary Society co-founder Lou Friedman asked me to join the board of directors. Then, I became vice president. In 2010, the board asked me to serve as executive director. After his 30 years at the helm, Lou Friedman wanted to retire. My friends, I was taken (quite a ways) aback. I did not feel especially qualified. Oh, sure, I had held leadership roles before. And I had been a producer, host, and head writer of a kids’ show. But none of these positions was quite the same as running the world’s largest independent space-interest society. But the board had faith in me, and so I had faith I could do it. And here we are, 15 years on. 

Over those years, I came to understand that we have a chance to change the world. Like millions of people, I was inspired by the vision of our founders. Bruce Murray could state the reason The Planetary Society exists with clarity. I hear his words every day. “There are two questions we all ask: Where did we come from? And are we alone in the Cosmos?” Those are the big ideas that every human on Earth has pondered at some time in their life. 

Along with the two big questions, there are three things that have perpetually motivated me. I want to explore other worlds because we don’t know what we’re going to find. Ice on the Moon’s south pole? Microbes under the sands of Mars? Aquatic creatures swimming around under the ice on Europa? Something extraordinary in the plumes shot into space by the jostling of the icy crust of Enceladus? The mind boggles. 

The next thing: I don’t want Earth to get hit with a seriously sizable asteroid. I like to tell every member of Congress and every member of their staff that an asteroid impact is the only preventable natural disaster. Such is not the case with an earthquake, volcanic eruption, hurricane, or twister. If it’s an asteroid, with planning and international cooperation, we could do something. 

The third thing that has kept me going and will keep going as long as I live: I want to find evidence of life — better yet, something still alive out there in the Cosmos. I referred to possibilities on Mars, Europa, and Enceladus. What about Titan? Or the cool clouds in the Venusian atmosphere? What about an exoplanet? A discovery of life would, dare I say it, change the world. Everyone on Earth would feel something profound — something new, strange, and important about being alive in the Cosmos.

OK. Enough about where I, or we, have been. Let’s talk about where we’re going. Along with this smooth transition in leadership, how ‘bout we change the world? Under Jennifer Vaughn’s leadership, we will keep building on our successes. We’re going to continue to invest in all of our science and technology programs. We’re going to continue to develop and expand our educational outreach efforts. And we’re going to keep showing up in the U.S. Congress both in person and through emails, letter-writing campaigns, and petitions. With your help, we’re going to keep up the pressure to restore funding to NASA, and we’re going to keep advocating for international cooperation in the scientific exploration of space. No other organization in space science advocacy matches our reach, our credibility, or our impact. 

Though I am proudly passing the torch of the CEO role, I won’t be stepping away from The Planetary Society. I’ll continue serving on the board and will take on a new role as our first chief ambassador. In this position, I’ll represent our organization publicly, keep in close communication with our members, and continue to champion space exploration in the halls of Congress at our annual Day of Action and beyond. 

Meanwhile, Jenn will take the helm at the top of the org chart. We could not be in better hands. Jenn helped craft our mission, and she is a natural leader with a clear vision for the future. She has the full trust and respect of the staff. The main thing is that she is just plain good at this. She will lead us into the 2030s and help us grow and advance our mission to enable the citizens of Earth to advance the scientific exploration of space. 

This has truly been the honor of a lifetime. My time as CEO has been wonderful; the friends I’ve made and the staff I’ve worked with have meant the world(s) — Earth and beyond — to me. At The Planetary Society today, we have the best team we’ve ever had. Our success is a product of each and every member of our team. I’m very proud to know ’em. And I’m especially proud to have served you, our members. 

Let’s change the world!

Space art

"Comets of the past"

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].

From the chief scientist

A cosmic roundup from The Planetary Society’s chief scientist

By Bruce Betts, Planetary Society Chief Scientist

In the sky

Super-bright Venus is low in the west after sunset. Very bright Jupiter is high in the sky in March, growing closer to Venus as the weeks pass. On June 9, they will be very close together. In June, Mercury is up in the west below Venus and Jupiter. The crescent Moon joins the three planets on June 16. In the predawn east, reddish Mars, yellowish Saturn, and Mercury are all close together in mid to late April, but they are very low to the eastern horizon, rising shortly before dawn. In the following weeks, Mercury will drop below the horizon while Saturn and Mars get higher in the sky. The medium-strength Lyrid meteor shower peaks April 21-22. The crescent Moon sets early during the peak, so it will not interfere with viewing. The Eta Aquariids peak on May 5-6. It is a strong shower when viewed from the Southern Hemisphere, but it is weaker in the Northern Hemisphere. A nearly full Moon will interfere with viewing wherever you are. For more night sky tips, you can always check out planetary.org/night-sky.

Random space fact

The mass of the Sun compared to the mass of Earth is about the same ratio as the mass of a large elephant compared to the mass of a small mouse.

Trivia contest

Our September Equinox contest winner is Joel Brown from Marathon, New York, USA. Congratulations! 

The question was: In kilometers or in miles, how much bigger is Earth’s equatorial radius compared to its polar radius? 

The answer: 22 kilometers (14 miles). 

Try to win a copy of the new book “Jupiter: The Largest Planet with The Planetary Society” by Bruce Betts and a Planetary Radio T-shirt by answering this question: In college, when Bill Nye took Introduction to Astronomy, who was his professor? 

Email your answer to planetaryreport@ planetary.org 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 May 15, 2026. One entry per person. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing from among all the correct entries received.

Society notes

Saving NASA’s budget

In January, the U.S. Congress approved a 2026 budget that firmly rejected the White House’s proposed cuts to NASA. Lawmakers provided $24.4 billion for NASA and $7.25 billion for the Science Mission Directorate — only slightly below 2025 levels and far better than the proposed 24% cut to NASA and 47% cut to NASA Science. This action saved more than a dozen missions from needless termination. 

This outcome is a major victory. It was driven by grassroots advocacy led by The Planetary Society and its partners. Tens of thousands of supporters in every state and congressional district sent 100,000 messages to Congress; 346 participants attended our two Days of Action on Capitol Hill and made the case directly to their elected officials. 

We need to keep this up. A new budget cycle starts this spring, and the White House could propose to cut science again. But we know that advocacy works. It’s why The Planetary Society exists. So thank you to every member who took action. We're proud of our work, and we're confident we can do it again, if necessary.

The SpaceNews icon award

In December 2025, Planetary Society Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier was honored with the SpaceNews Icon Award for Individual Achievement. This award recognizes individuals whose leadership and innovation have set new benchmarks for excellence and inspired progress across the space community. Fellow nominees were Jarrett Jones, senior vice president for Blue Origin’s New Glenn Heavy-Lift Orbital Launch Vehicle, and Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency.

Fundraising success!

We are happy to announce that thanks to the generous support of members like you, we surpassed our year-end fundraising goal at the end of 2025. Together, members raised $425,000 to support The Planetary Society’s year-round work. Thank you for making 2025 another successful year!

Introducing our D.C. office

In 2025, The Planetary Society established our first satellite office in Washington, D.C. Led by Director of Government Relations Jack Kiraly, this office will serve as home base for our activities in the nation’s capital. From high-profile events and important meetings to casual member get-togethers and celebrations, this new permanent presence will elevate our work in D.C.