Annular eclipses demonstrate just how perfect the size-distance ratio has to be to produce a total solar eclipse. The Moon’s orbit around Earth is elliptical, meaning it comes closer to Earth at certain points in this orbit and farther at others. The …
We are pleased to announce that Mark Gelfand is the first recipient of the C. Wallace Hooser Award for Visionary Philanthropy. Inspired by the space race of the 1960s, Mark has always been interested in technology and how things work. He received a degree …
Reardon and his colleagues are traveling to Mazatlán, Mexico, for the 2024 eclipse, where the sky will darken for almost four-and-a-half minutes, and chances of clear skies are very high. There, they will set up telescopes equipped with spectrographs that …
Juno has found that Europa produces less oxygen than previously thought. The NASA spacecraft measured outgassing from the icy moon’s surface, allowing scientists to calculate that the rate of oxygen being produced at Europa is substantially less than most …
For all the wonders robotic space missions have to offer, they are limited by mass, power, and size requirements. We can’t carry all our large, precise laboratory equipment to space. That limits us when we want to precisely know a rock’s age, the …
Can SpaceX’s Starship save Mars Sample Return? With NASA’s budget still uncertain, it’s tempting to consider whether technology like Starship can provide a way forward for Mars Sample Return. We took a closer look at the mission’s science and found …
That switch was a safety shutoff for the laser system meant to guide the spacecraft to a safe landing spot. With no way to turn the instrument back on, the mission’s future was in jeopardy. But flukes don’t just spoil space missions — they also save them. …
Eris and Makemake may be more active than we thought. New observations from JWST suggest that the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake might have warm geochemistry taking place in their rocky cores. Both worlds are located in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune, …
Amid the cost growth, political division, and management missteps roiling NASA and ESA’s Mars Sample Return program, it is not unreasonable to ask if there are more affordable alternatives to return these samples to Earth, namely SpaceX’s own Mars project, …
OSIRIS-APEX is a mission to shadow Apophis, a giant asteroid, just after the rock barely avoids hitting Earth. If successful, OSIRIS-APEX will take modern humanity’s closest call with a major asteroid and turn it into an opportunity: a chance to better …
Choose a viewing location Find a spot that offers a clear, unobstructed view of the sky. Public parks, open fields, rooftops, and even backyards can be great choices. Make sure the location is easily accessible and comfortable for guests, considering …
Would you predict that life could exist on Titan? The moon of Saturn is the only other place in the Solar System with liquid lakes, rivers, and seas on its surface. This sounds like a recipe for life — except Titan’s liquids are ethane and methane, not …
Packed with interactive activities and featuring Bill Nye, CEO of The Planetary Society, and CaLisa Lee, a Planetary Society volunteer, the booklet serves as a comprehensive guide for young explorers interested in eclipses, with each activity thoughtfully …
Briefly, they are: do the science, do it now, and do it with balance. That is: Return the full suite of samples collected by the Perseverance rover, don’t leave precious samples on the surface to shave proverbial pennies off the project’s cost; Don’t delay …
Gurbir Singh: India went to Mars in 2013 because there was a Chinese spacecraft on board the Fobos-Grunt spacecraft launched by Russia in 2011. That spacecraft never left Earth orbit and failed. India realized that there would be an opportunity to launch a …
Quasi-moons like this had been predicted, but none had been discovered until Skiff spotted and tracked Zoozve in 2002. Since then, a quasi-moon of Neptune has been discovered, as well as seven quasi-moons of Earth. Because Zoozve crosses Earth’s orbital …
Europa’s subsurface oceans are thought to contain twice as much water as all of Earth’s oceans combined. Measurements of the moon’s magnetic field also hinted that this water might be salty, suggesting it is in contact with a rocky seabed — a potential …
Uranus is full of mystery. The distant ice giant is one of the Solar System’s lesser-explored planets, having only been visited once — and briefly — by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft. Learn about Uranus’ biggest unsolved mysteries and the mission that could …
About The Planetary Society Mission: Empowering the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration. In 1980, Carl Sagan, Louis Friedman, and Bruce Murray founded The Planetary Society. They saw enormous public interest in space that was not …
What is Congress doing about it? In this situation, it’s not useful to consider “Congress” as a single entity. There are factions within the U.S. Congress that hold mutually incompatible positions regarding MSR and, thus, JPL’s workforce woes. On Feb. 1, …
