Welcome to the The Planetary Society's Press Room. Here you'll find the latest information about Society events, programs, personalities, and other news about the exploration of the universe.
Media Contact
To join our media list, or for more information about our news, please contact Danielle Gunn at press@planetary.org or 626-793-5100.
Comprehensive multimedia resources to support LightSail reporting including current news, archives, biographies, video, high-resolution photography for print and online purposes, and background information.
Press Releases/Media Alerts
Planetary Society-funded Technology Picked by NASA for Possible Moon Flight (July 11, 2019)
PlanetVac, a Planetary Society-funded technology that simplifies the process of collecting samples from other worlds, may fly to the Moon.
The Planetary Society Celebrates Launch of LightSail 2 (June 25, 2019)
LightSail 2 is officially in space! The Planetary Society's solar sail CubeSat lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 25 June at 02:30 EDT (06:30 UTC). The late-night launch came courtesy of SpaceX's triple-booster Falcon Heavy rocket, which was carrying 24 spacecraft for the U.S. Air Force's STP-2 mission.
Media Invited to LightSail 2 Press Teleconference with Bill Nye and Mission Team (June 17, 2019)
The Planetary Society will send a crowdfunded spacecraft called LightSail 2 on a historic mission to demonstrate solar sailing around the Earth on the next SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch.
Recent Blogs
NASA Rings in the New Year with $22.6 billion
Casey Dreier • January 10, 2020
NASA's final 2020 budget rejected every major cut proposed by the Trump Administration, increased funding for popular congressional projects such as the Space Launch System, and underfunded several key administration proposals, including a human-qualified lunar lander and low-Earth orbit commercialization projects.
Here's What We've Learned So Far from LightSail 2
Jason Davis • January 10, 2020
A new paper recaps mission events, discusses solar sail performance, and describes how the spacecraft's orbit has changed.
The Downlink: New Earth-size Exoplanet Found, Meteor Shower Seen from ISS
Jason Davis • January 10, 2020
Planetary exploration news for busy people
The Downlink: Mars 2020 Ready to Rove, India to Build Second Lunar Lander
Jason Davis • January 03, 2020
Planetary exploration news for busy people
The Downlink: CHEOPS Exoplanet Mission Launches, ISS Test Flight Goes Awry
Jason Davis • December 20, 2019
Planetary exploration news for busy people
Tweets by exploreplanetsHigh-Resolution Photography for Print and Online Purposes
Image usage policy: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. For additional publication permissions, please contact us.
Click thumbnails to enlarge.
Bill Nye Head Shot Dark 2015
F. Scott Schafer
Bill Nye and the World 2015 (2)
F. Scott Schafer
Bill Nye with LightSail Model
F. Scott Schafer
Bill Nye Thinking 2015
F. Scott Schafer
CubeSats have made low-cost space missions a reality for universities and research groups. However, these tiny satellites lack propulsion. LightSail will demonstrate the viability of solar sailing for CubeSats.
The Planetary Society's Shoemaker NEO Grant program helps astronomers find, track and characterize near-Earth objects.
Planetary Deep Drill is designed to explore tens, hundreds or even thousands of meters below the Martian polar ice caps and Europa's icy crust.
Become a member of The Planetary Society and together we will create the future of space exploration.
Help advance robotic and human space exploration, defend our planet, and search for life.
