Astonishing, unprecedented, explosive

Space Snapshot

This astonishing view captured by Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui shows auroras lighting up Earth’s atmosphere, the stars of the Milky Way galaxy, and the International Space Station. A view like this "only happens when the ISS is oriented with its front and back reversed from the usual direction of travel — it's a very rare sight," Yui wrote in a post on X. Image credit: Kimiya Yui/JAXA.

Fact Worth Sharing

Our home planet sure is photogenic. According to NASA, the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station have taken more than 3.5 million photographs of Earth from orbit.

Space Advocate Update

A new federal rule would gut the science behind NASA's missions. On May 29, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed a government-wide rewrite of the rules that govern nearly every federal grant. Under these rules, a senior political official would have to personally approve every single federal grant before it goes out — meaning political appointees, not scientists, would decide which research gets funded in the United States. NASA is one of dozens of agencies that would be forced to adopt these new procedures.

The public comment period for this potential change is open, so please take action right now to show the OMB that science matters to you.

Mission Briefings

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a pre-launch test. Blue Origin said all personnel are safe and accounted for following the “anomaly.” Although the company’s launchpad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center was severely damaged, Blue Origin says the New Glenn rocket will launch again before the end of the year. Planetary Society Science Editor Asa Stahl explains what this could mean for lunar exploration. Image credit: Blue Origin.

NASA’s MAVEN mission is over. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution orbiter has been studying the Martian atmosphere for more than 11 years, a decade longer than its primary, one-year mission. NASA lost contact with the spacecraft on Dec. 6, 2025, and recently determined that the mission was not recoverable.

NASA plans to announce the Artemis III crew on June 9. Scheduled to launch in mid-2027, Artemis III will send a four-person crew to test docking operations in Earth orbit ahead of a Moon landing on Artemis IV. The announcement will stream on NASA+ and on the agency’s YouTube channel.

From The Planetary Society

Colonel Eileen Collins was a true trailblazer. The first woman to pilot and command a Space Shuttle, Collins was also the person NASA trusted to lead the program back into space after the loss of Columbia. In this week’s Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed sits down with Collins to discuss “Spacewoman,” a new documentary about her groundbreaking career. Pictured: Eileen Collins and Vladimir Titov on Space Shuttle Discovery in 1995. Image credit: NASA.

New in the Book Club: “The Edge of Space-Time.” Particle physicist and cosmologist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein joined Planetary Society book club members this week to discuss her latest book, which explores the vastness of the Universe and the infinitesimal weirdness of quantum mechanics. Watch a recording of the conversation, and join the book club for future author Q&As. Next month’s pick is “Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change our Bodies and Minds,” by biologist and science communicator Scott Solomon. The book club is exclusive to Planetary Society members. Not yet a member? Join today.

What's Up

A beautiful sight in the early evening western sky: the two brightest planets, super-bright Venus and very bright Jupiter, pass by each other in the coming days. They are particularly close from Sunday, June 7, through Wednesday, June 10. And Mercury is near the horizon below Venus and Jupiter. In the predawn, yellowish Saturn shines near the eastern horizon, with reddish Mars lower down. Learn more in our guide to June’s night skies.

Help save space missions. Join today!

If you are not already a member, we need your help! Funding for space science is not guaranteed. It requires the voice of passionate advocates like YOU.

NASA funding must grow, not shrink, if the agency is to succeed in returning to the Moon, exploring the Solar System, and seeking out life beyond Earth.

We must prevent future budget cuts. When you become a member of The Planetary Society, you join the world’s largest and most influential space advocacy nonprofit. Will you join us and support a future full of space exploration?

Wow of the Week

Astronauts aboard the ISS get amazing views of Earth from orbit, but imagine having that vantage point above another world. Planetary Society member and artist Andrew Stewart explored such an idea with this painting of an imagined space station orbiting Saturn. Image credit: Andrew Stewart.

Send us your artwork!

We love to feature space artwork in the Downlink. If you create any kind of space-related art, we invite you to send it to us by replying to any Downlink email or writing to [email protected]. Please let us know in your email if you’re a Planetary Society member!