In July 2022, just six days after NASA declared that the James Webb Space Telescope was ready for full science operations, the observatory aimed its gold-plated mirrors at a star named TRAPPIST-1. Located 40 light-years away from Earth, TRAPPIST-1 has …
Advocacy actions in support of NASA's budget In February, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) announced layoffs of 530 people, roughly 8% of the lab’s full-time workforce. This dramatic action was caused by a congressional fight over Mars Sample Return …
MOST ATHLETIC: TOI 4201b Among exoplanets, the Most Athletic award would surely have to go to the biggest, strongest, fastest one around: TOI 4201b. This planet was a latecomer to the class, just discovered in 2023, but its athletic prowess is impossible …
Project Summary The Planetary Society is requesting proposals from individual contractors / organizations to provide design services to produce our quarterly space magazine. With a global community of more than 2 million space enthusiasts, The Planetary …
Voyager 1 has resumed returning science data. In an amazing recovery, the mission’s science team has succeeded in reviving two of the iconic spacecraft’s four science instruments for the first time since a computer issue arose with Voyager 1 in November …
Old data are yielding new discoveries about Venus’ volcanism. Analysis of radar data from NASA’s Magellan orbiter has found evidence of the formation of new rock on the Venusian surface, likely from lava flows from two volcanoes, suggesting that these …
Competed missions historically cost less and fly more frequently than NASA’s high-profile flagship missions, which generally cost upwards of $2 billion and fly once per decade. NASA attempts to fly five Discovery-class missions and two New Frontiers …
White dwarfs are the smoldering remains of stars like the Sun. Right now, the nuclear fusion of hydrogen in the Sun’s core produces energy that pushes back against gravity and keeps the Sun from falling in on itself. Eventually, though, the Sun will run …
ESA and NASA will team up for the next Mars rover. The Rosalind Franklin rover is set to be Europe’s first on Mars, but it has been stalled ever since a collaboration with Russia fell apart following the invasion of Ukraine. Now, NASA has agreed to pick up …
Could quasi-moons or mini-moons hit Earth? Scientists used to think certain quasi-moons had a significant chance of impacting Earth, but thankfully, that’s no longer the case. Since Earth’s current quasi-moons are around 10–300 meters (30–1000 feet) in …
The Planetary Society is advocating hard for space. This week on Planetary Radio, hear stories from this year's Day of Action, in which nearly 100 advocates from across the United States came to Washington, D.C., to speak with their members of Congress …
Key principles of the Outer Space Treaty The Outer Space Treaty includes several important principles that guide space exploration and use to this day. According to the U.N. Office of Outer Space Affairs, the treaty’s key principles are: That the …
NASA is pursuing six new, far-out concepts. The agency’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program (NIAC) has selected six concept studies for additional funding and development. These visionary projects aim to revolutionize aspects of space exploration and …
HWO will examine the atmospheres of at least 25 potentially habitable worlds, searching for biosignatures that could indicate the presence of life. The detection of biosignatures requires context, so that we can avoid being fooled by non-life processes. …
A Japanese spacecraft is advancing orbital debris cleanup. The main objective of the Japanese company Astroscale’s ADRAS-J (short for "Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan") mission is to rendezvous with and study a large piece of orbital …
Three thousand years ago, the Babylonians observed that from Earth’s perspective, the Sun appears to move through 12 of the charted constellations over the course of a year. This led to the development of the signs of the zodiac, a foundational part of …
This funding level requested in the bipartisan letter will allow the NASA Science Mission Directorate to support its program of existing and next-generation space missions. By funding NASA SMD at $9 billion, Congress will enable: Increased support for …
The mission The Chang’e-6 spacecraft consists of four separate components: an orbiter, lander, ascender, and reentry module. After launch, Chang’e-6 will travel to the Moon and enter lunar orbit. The spacecraft’s lander and ascender will travel to the …
Lava on Io is among the hottest things in the Solar System. Volcanoes like the one pictured above in Io’s Tvashtar Catena region spew lava onto the moon’s surface that reaches searing temperatures. This earns Io a spot among the hottest places in the Solar …
Ice giants likely have cores of rock and metal similar to those of the gas giants. Beyond that lie oceans of water, ammonia, and methane, squeezed by intense pressures into semi-solid states. Electric currents flowing through their icy-hot oceans may be …
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