The Planetary Society

The Planetary Society Champion a future full of space exploration! Become a member today at planetary.org We encourage discussion about the cosmos and our place within it.

In 1980, Carl Sagan, Louis Friedman, and Bruce Murray founded The Planetary Society. They saw that there was enormous public interest in space, but that this was not reflected in government, as NASA’s budget was cut again and again. Today, The Planetary Society continues this work, under the leadership of CEO Bill Nye, as the world’s largest and most influential non-profit space organization. The organization is supported by over 50,000 members in over 100 countries, and by hundreds of volunteers around the world. Our mission is to empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration. We advocate for space and planetary science funding in government, inspire and educate people around the world, and develop and fund groundbreaking space science and technology. We introduce people to the wonders of the cosmos, bridging the gap between the scientific community and the general public to inspire and educate people from all walks of life. We give every citizen of the planet the opportunity to make their voices heard in government and effect real change in support of space exploration. And we bring ordinary people directly to the frontier of exploration as we crowdfund innovative and exciting space technologies. Commenting Policy:

This page is intended to inspire the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration. We hope you share your thoughts and ideas with us. That said, we reserve the right to delete posts or ban users that are in violation of our community standards, including, but not limited to spam, profanity and personal attacks.

JAXA's Hayabusa2 flew within 400 meters (1,300 feet) of asteroid Torifune on July 5 and confirmed that it's a contact bi...
09/24/2026

JAXA's Hayabusa2 flew within 400 meters (1,300 feet) of asteroid Torifune on July 5 and confirmed that it's a contact binary, two lobes stuck together. Tune in to Planetary Radio to hear what this extended mission flyby revealed about this rare contact binary and what it means for planetary defense.☄️

NASA Chief Scientist for Small Body Exploration at Johnson Space Center, Paul Abell, takes us inside Hayabusa2's flyby of asteroid Torifune and the…

09/24/2026

Will the European Space Agency move forward without NASA on their mission to Venus?

Three new projects just got funded thanks to backing provided by Planetary Society members, Halıcıoğlu Family Foundation...
09/21/2026

Three new projects just got funded thanks to backing provided by Planetary Society members, Halıcıoğlu Family Foundation, as well as donors to our STEP Grant campaigns. From asteroid-defense tech to mapping the far reaches of the Solar System. Meet this year's STEP Grant winners 🎉 🔭

Three groups of scientists will receive crowdfunded support to further the scientific exploration of space.

09/18/2026

Voyager 1 will reach one light day in November!

What can Vulcans and Klingons teach us about being human? This week on Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed sits down wi...
09/16/2026

What can Vulcans and Klingons teach us about being human? This week on Planetary Radio, host Sarah Al-Ahmed sits down with Robert Picardo, Tim Russ, and Karim Diané to celebrate Star Trek's 60th anniversary, and dig into how the show has shaped the way we think about space, science, and ourselves.

In part two of our Star Trek 60th anniversary series, Tim Russ, Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager, and Karim Diané, Jay-Den Kraag from Star Trek: Starfleet…

NASA's New Horizons is poised to make discoveries about the farthest reaches of our Solar System, but two of its key ins...
09/15/2026

NASA's New Horizons is poised to make discoveries about the farthest reaches of our Solar System, but two of its key instruments are in danger of being shut down prematurely.

Starting Oct. 1, SWAP and PEPSSI will go dark. The spacecraft itself is healthy, with enough power and fuel to keep functioning until around 2050.

Here's what's happening and how you can help save them. ⬇️

NASA's New Horizons is poised to make discoveries about the farthest reaches of our Solar System, but two of its key instruments are in danger of being…

09/15/2026

9 years ago today, we said goodbye to Cassini, a spacecraft that changed the way we see one of the most beloved planets in our Solar System.

Cassini spent 13 years exploring Saturn, its rings, and its moons, transforming our understanding of the giant planet and worlds like Titan and Enceladus.

In its final months, the spacecraft completed 22 daring dives between Saturn and its innermost ring, gathering unprecedented close-up measurements.

To protect potentially habitable moons from contamination, NASA brought the mission to a dramatic end with Cassini’s deliberate plunge into Saturn.

It now rests within the world it studied, leaving behind a legacy of discoveries and data that scientists are still unraveling today.

What a legend. ❤️

09/10/2026

Which Moon mystery are you most intrigued by? 🤔

Did you miss it? The replay is up now 🥳 Jonathan Lunine, chief scientist at JPL, joined The Planetary Society's Sarah Al...
09/10/2026

Did you miss it? The replay is up now 🥳

Jonathan Lunine, chief scientist at JPL, joined The Planetary Society's Sarah Al-Ahmed for a fireside chat live from NASA JPL mission control, and the full conversation is now available to watch on demand.

Lunine has spent his career chasing one of science's biggest questions: is there life beyond Earth? After earning both of his graduate degrees at Caltech, he went on to help shape mission after mission, Cassini at Saturn, Juno at Jupiter, and now Europa Clipper, where he's a co-investigator on the spacecraft flying toward one of the most promising places to find life in our solar system. In 2024 he returned to Caltech as professor of planetary science and became chief scientist at JPL.

Over 75 minutes, Lunine and Sarah dug into the missions defining the hunt for habitable worlds: Perseverance's Sapphire Canyon sample (the strongest potential sign of ancient life yet found on another planet), Curiosity's organic molecules in Gale Crater, and Europa Clipper's voyage to Jupiter's ocean moon. Mission imagery, video, and live audience questions included.

🎥 Watch now ⬇️

In September 2025, a sample named Sapphire Canyon made headlines ar...

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