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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
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 Psyche launch and its journey to a metal world: What to expect
The Psyche spacecraft is scheduled to blast off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Oct. 13.
The boy who named Bennu is now an aspiring astronaut
The Planetary Society spoke to Mike Puzio, who won our "Name that asteroid!" contest back in 2013.
OSIRIS-REx returns sample from asteroid Bennu to Earth
The sample capsule parachuted to a landing at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range southwest of Salt Lake City.
Cometary sights and sounds
Discover what causes a comet’s color and what it might be like to listen to one whiz by.
OSIRIS-REx sample return: What to expect
The spacecraft will drop off its precious samples of asteroid Bennu on Sept. 24, 2023.
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.
Storms and showers
Mars has storms of dust, while Saturn pours down ammonia rain. Here on Earth, we passed through a debris tail to get a special kind of shower.
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.
Speedy spacecraft and pretty pics
Take a look at some of our favorite recent space images and learn about an express mission to Mars.
The Space Advocate Newsletter, July 2023
What's going on with Mars Sample Return?
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.
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.
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.
The scientific truth is out there
The real science of aliens, the policy implications of ET, and new views of worlds beyond our own.
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.