Articles

Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.

China's plans for outer Solar System exploration

A Callisto impactor, a Uranus flyby, and a dedicated ice giant orbiter could be on China’s planetary exploration horizon.

That’s a mare

An unusual lunar feature, Saturn’s shining rings, and Mars’ complex gullies.

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.

Have a nice flight!

Flying on Titan is easy, but not as easy as flying on Deimos. Plus, Juice takes off and Ingenuity captures a view from the air.

Red hot space

This week’s roundup of space news and exploration inspiration will leave you seeing red (in the best way possible).

Tianwen-2: China’s Near-Earth asteroid and comet double-header

China is gearing up for an ambitious combined mission to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid, deliver the material to Earth, and then head off back into deep space to study a comet.

Two pale blue dots

Reflecting on Carl Sagan’s influence on this pale blue dot we call Earth.

VOICE: Will this Chinese candidate mission to Venus fly?

Inside the Venus Volcano Imaging and Climate Explorer (VOICE) proposal, which appears to be gaining momentum.

New wonders to behold

New stars are being born, new missions are being conceived, and new discoveries are being made all the time.

Brighten up your day

JWST captures more astonishing images and insights, and DART gets ready for impact.

Tianwen-3: China’s Mars sample return mission

China's Tianwen-3 aims to be the first to collect samples from Mars and deliver them to Earth, potentially landing back home two years ahead of the NASA and the European Space Agency MSR project

Planetary accessorizing

Planets are beautiful and fascinating enough on their own, but there’s no denying that moons and rings add a little something special.

China looks to outer Solar System with nuclear Neptune orbiter

The mission proposal calls for nuclear fission power. Breakthroughs would boost China’s overall exploration capabilities.

First steps and big leaps

Technological innovation is a big part of the fun of space exploration, and you can help make it happen.

A hazy shade of winter

A Martian explorer hunkers down for winter and a planet’s haze is explained.

Artist's concept of near-Earth asteroids

China is getting serious about planetary defense

Here is what we know about the capabilities and technologies China is considering developing in the near future for near-Earth object monitoring, cataloging, early warning and response.