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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Searching the skies to keep us all alive
Astronomers around the world are working to protect the Earth from asteroid impacts, with the help of Planetary Society members and donors.
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.
Announcing the 2023 Shoemaker NEO grant winners
Meet the latest round of winners in The Planetary Society's Shoemaker Near-Earth Object (NEO) grant program, which funds astronomers around the world in their efforts to find, track, and characterize near-Earth asteroids.
Rings and dings
From Saturn’s magnificent rings to Mercury’s surface dings, this week brings great new images and science from across the Solar System.
Marrying the arts and science in space
Recent University of Pittsburgh graduate Ariel Barreiro is joining The Planetary Society for a summer fellowship through the Zed Factor Fellowship program. She shares her thoughts about space, careers, and working with The Planetary Society in this interview.
Want to be a citizen astronomer and defend Earth from asteroids? Here are some tips.
We asked three Planetary Society Shoemaker NEO grant winners for tips on how to assemble your own planetary defense observatory.
Day and night, it’s all about starlight
This week in space: Mars days almost match up with ours, and light and molecules are created by distant stars.
Vladimir Benishek and the mystique of asteroid research
The Planetary Society Shoemaker NEO Grant winner learned from his mother and grandfather, while also forging his own path.
The Space Advocate Newsletter, June 2023
What the debt limit deal means for NASA.
Asteroid samples from another world
The OSIRIS-REx team explains the journey home.
Why did we need OSIRIS-REx?
How OSIRIS-REx’s samples build upon our knowledge of asteroids and the early Solar System.
Your impact: June solstice 2023
Meet our second round of STEP Grant winners!
The scientific truth is out there
The real science of aliens, the policy implications of ET, and new views of worlds beyond our own.
Are aliens real?
An exploration of whether aliens are out there, what kind of extraterrestrial life is most likely to exist, and how we're looking for it.
Would you like some salty water with your space salad?
Two new grant-winning projects, a collection of awesome space imagery, a mighty plume, and much more this week in space.
Space salads and salty waters
The two winning proposals in the 2023 round of STEP grants are a project that will compare different methods of growing edible plants in simulated deep-space exploration conditions, and a project that will study salty lakes on Earth that share characteristics with the past and present oceans of other planets and moons.
Way out there
We’re always learning more about the worlds of the outer Solar System, and even those beyond.
Five asteroid deflection techniques to save the Earth
Kinetic impactor or nuclear blast? Here are some ways to defend our planet from a dangerous asteroid.
Moon-spying missions and a planetary evil twin
Whether they’re dedicated to it or not, planetary missions can get beautiful and informative glimpses at distant moons. And who’s the evil twin: Venus or Earth?
Why is Venus called Earth’s twin?
Although Venus and Earth have many differences, they're often called twins because of some key similarities. Looking back to the two planets' early history, the similarities run even deeper.