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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Is space science worth the money?
Space science costs money. Here's why it's worth the investment.
How do NASA and ESA work together?
NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have a long-standing partnership that has resulted in spectacular science missions, including the James Webb Space Telescope and the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn.
NASA's FY 2025 budget request is not enough
Federal spending caps and inflation take a bite out of NASA's ambitions.
The Planetary Society advocacy priorities in NASA’s final 2024 budget
Funding for the Near-Earth Object Surveyor, support for VERITAS, and a second lease on life for Mars Sample Return were all included in the final congressional budget for NASA in 2024.
The path forward for Mars Sample Return
A brief summary of The Planetary Society's policy principles and recommendations for Mars Sample Return.
How layoffs at JPL can be traced to a stalemate in Congress
A battle over the future of Mars Sample Return is taking a toll on NASA’s workforce.
What went wrong with Mars Sample Return
An edited transcript of an interview with Orlando Figueroa, chair of the independent review team that evaluated NASA's Mars Sample Return program.
The future of Mars Sample Return
An overview of the 2023 Independent Review Board report on the state and future of Mars Sample Return.
The Day of Action returns to Capitol Hill
Planetary Society members traveled to Washington, D.C., in September 2023 to advocate for the future of space science and exploration.
See for yourself
See the month’s coolest space pictures, see planets in the night sky, and create the future in space that you want to see.
To the moon together
An interview with Scott Pace about the Moon’s role in internationally cooperative human space exploration.
Hasta la vista, baby
Terminators abound this week in space, and we’ll be back to Mars if NASA gets the budget it needs.
That’s a mare
An unusual lunar feature, Saturn’s shining rings, and Mars’ complex gullies.
The U.S. Senate threatens to cancel Mars Sample Return
The House has yet to weigh in. And much can still happen before this threat is realized.
The Space Advocate Newsletter, July 2023
What's going on with Mars Sample Return?
The Space Advocate Newsletter, June 2023
What the debt limit deal means for NASA.
Way out there
We’re always learning more about the worlds of the outer Solar System, and even those beyond.
Hard-working spacecraft and even harder-working microbes
The Soyuz spacecraft have been helping humans get to and from space for decades, but that’s nothing compared to the billions of years that microorganisms have been making life on Earth possible.
Why has SpaceX's Starship sparked an environmental controversy?
An interview with environmental policy expert Eric Roesch about what made the April 2023 Starship test launch so environmentally harmful, and why the Federal Aviation Administration may ultimately be to blame.
The Space Advocate Newsletter, May 2023
NASA's planetary budget is historically high, but it's still beset by challenges.