The Planetary Society of Washington, DC

10/23/2018

Washington Post

HAPPENING NOW: Check out our CEO, Bill Nye, and Vice President, Heidi Hammel, discuss the future of space exploration with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

The Washington Post hosts “Transformers: Space” featuring Vice President Mike Pence, chairman of the National Space Council. Vice President Pence talks one-on-one with National Political Reporter Robert Costa about the Trump administration’s plan to establish a “Space Force” as the sixth branch of the U.S. military. The program also features prominent speakers in the fields of space science and policy, including NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye and astronauts Chris Ferguson and Victor Glover, who discuss the future of human spaceflight. This wide-ranging conversation covers the factors shaping American leadership in space, the new “space race,” and the future of space exploration that could lead to a future beyond Earth.

10/02/2018

2018 Lecture Series

This Thursday, Dr. David Grinspoon and scientists from NASA will be speaking about Mars exploration at K&L Gates in downtown DC.

Please note that this event has a modest cost to attend.

"Evidence that a lake lies beneath the southern polar ice cap of Mars was discovered in July by an orbiting probe, marking the first time a persistent body of liquid water has been found on the red planet. This announcement naturally led many to wonder: does this mean there is life on Mars? Astrophysicist and author David H. Grinspoon, PhD with Gareth Morgan, PhD Research Scientist Planetary Science Institute; Jennifer Stern, PhD Space Scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; and Michael Meyer, PhD Lead Scientist, NASA Mars Exploration Program will walk us through this exciting discovery and what's next in the mission to ascertain if anything might be swimming in these Martian waters."

The Museum of Science Fiction in Washington, DC, will be the world’s first comprehensive science fiction museum, covering the history of the genre across the arts and providing a narrative on its relationship to the real world. Our mission is to create a center of gravity where art and science are...

09/06/2018

Visit Congress with The Planetary Society, March 3rd - 4th, 2019

IMPORTANT NEWS: The Planetary Society will be hosting its first-ever Congressional Advocacy Day next year! This will be a great opportunity for first-timers and veteran space advocates to meet with members of Congress and their staff to discuss their passion for space exploration. An all-inclusive training will be provided on March 3rd, and meetings will take place on the 4th.

Registration will be open until the week before the event as to accommodate people’s often hectic schedules.

Alongside the training and meetings, there will be several events planned for participants and local members to attend.

Be the ultimate space advocate. Join fellow members of The Planetary Society as we descend on Capitol Hill to advocate for space science and exploration. You bring your passion for space exploration. We train you and schedule your meetings on Capitol Hill. It's fun. It's effective. It makes a differ...

05/03/2018

Explore Mars

Here's a reminder about the Humans to Mars Summit coming up next week! It's a great opportunity to hear about the future of Mars exploration!

Are you a student, advocate, professional or enthusiast seeking to get an in-depth look at the developing technology & research necessary to embark on the mission? We're offering a first come first serve the opportunity to volunteer at Humans To Mars Summit 2018​ and for each shift covered, that day's registration fees waived!

Learn more and sign up at https://h2m.exploremars.org/volunteer

03/29/2018

Check us out at Awesome Con this Friday through Sunday, at booth #1506.

03/20/2018

Public Lecture: The Gravitational Wave Astronomical Revolution

There's a great event coming up next week in DC about gravitational waves. Below is a write-up from the organizers.

"The National Academy of Sciences are organizing a public lecture and webcast featuring David Reitze, the director of LIGO, and I thought the topic might be of broad interest to Planetary Society members. Dr. Reitze is a fantastic speaker and his talk should be accessible for space enthusiasts of all backgrounds.

The registration link is http://gravwaves.eventbrite.com."

In late 2015, the LIGO Observatories detected the collision and fusion of the two black holes, directly measuring for the first time the gravitational waves produced during the event. This discovery, which captured worldwide attention, was followed in August 2017 by an equally spectacular discovery:...

03/06/2018

Hi all! Just a heads up about an event coming up at the Applied Physics Lab. Details below:

"THE DARK SIDE OF THE SUN"
March 14, 2018
6:00 pm
Parsons Auditorium JHU/APL

Movie, followed by Solar Scientists Question and Answer Panel moderated by John Grunsfeld

The National Solar Observatory (NSO), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (JHU/APL), and the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) are proud to present a free screening of the Discovery Channel’s "THE DARK SIDE OF THE SUN" narrated by award-winning artist Sting, directed by filmmakers Nathaniel Kahn and Paul Bozymowski and produced by RadicalMedia.

The screening will take place on March 14th at 6:00 pm in Parsons Auditorium at JHU Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Maryland and will be followed by a question and answer session with a panel of NSO, NASA, JHU/APL, and European Space Agency (ESA) scientists moderated by John M. Grunsfeld (Astronaut and Former NASA Associate Administrator for Science).

The panel participants are: Valentin Pillet, Director, National Solar Observatory; David Boboltz, National Solar Observatory Program Director, NSF; Anik DeGroof, Solar Orbiter Instrument Operations Scientist, ESA; Louise Harra, Professor Solar Physics, UCL; Angelos Vourlidas, SoloHi & WISPR Project Scientist, JHU/APL and; Nicola Fox, Parker Solar Probe Project Scientist, JHU/APL.

03/03/2018

The Planetary Society

The Planetary Society

LightSail 2 is scheduled to launch during a 60-day period starting on June 13! Here are the details:

02/25/2018

Hey all!

A couple MAJOR announcements for events, including one tonight. Details below.

Tonight: For those attending the Space Exploration Alliance Legislative Blitz, there is a TPS member meet-up after the training today. We are meeting at 6pm at Tonic (2036 G Street NW Washington, DC 20036) for a pay-your-own-way drinks and dinner. We will be occupying the first floor bar area.

Tuesday Morning: There will be an informal Congressional briefing on the "Holy Grail" of planetary science next week: sample return. This briefing will take place at 10am on Tuesday, February 26th in 2325 Rayburn House Office Building near the Capitol. Space Policy Director, Casey Dreier, will be hosting the discussion with three noted planetary scientists.

Hope to see you all there!

02/14/2018

Happy Planetine's Day everyone!

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us.

Voyager took this picture of us 28 years ago today on , when it was 4 billion miles away. planetary.org/explore/space-topics/earth/pale-blue-dot.html

01/26/2018

A Celebration of the Explorer I Mission and the Discovery of Earth's Radiation Belts

Come join the National Academies for a conversation about Explorer I, the spacecraft that discovered the Earth's Radiation Belts, and the impact it has had on the American space program.

A Celebration of the Explorer I Mission and the Discovery of Earth's Radiation Belts On January 31, 1958, the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, was launched from Cape Canaveral, and with it began 60 years of extraordinary technological and scientific advances. The Space Studies Board of the National...

01/26/2018

Way cool!

Mars Panorama - Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 1943

🔥 High resolution 360° panorama https://goo.gl/tTs9PL 🔎
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Andrew Bodrov

This panorama combines 61 exposures taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the Sol 1943 of Curiosity's work on Mars (January 23, 2018). BW background addition: rover's 34-millimeter Mast Camera, Sol 1903.

You can find all interactive panoramas of by NASA's Rover here: http://www.360cities.net/sets/curiosity-mars

12/28/2017

Jim

Check out this brand new song from local member and cosmic superstar, Jim Thorne!

Here's a brand new song about a future mission to Jupiter's moon Europa to explore under the icy surface:

12/28/2017

Astronomical Observatories - The Daily Cosmos

This is awesome!

YES. GET IT, GIRLS. 🚀

"American Girl's 2018 girl of the year is Luciana Vega, an 11-year-old "aspiring astronaut who dreams of being the first person to go to Mars," the wildly popular doll makers said in a statement unveiling the new character.

"Luciana is our first character that's really immersed in STEM," Rebecca Dekuiper, a designer at American Girl, said in a video about the making of Luciana. "We've had STEM products before, but we really wanted to do a whole character to show girls that STEM is cool.""

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/meet-american-girls-2018-girl-year-aspiring-astronaut/story?id=52003366

12/13/2017

Geminid Meteor Shower

Are you trying to watch the tonight? Check out this handy how-to from Astroathens.

Music by Dayebeats!!! What is a meteor shower? And why should the Geminid meteor shower be the first one you see if you've never seen one before?! One of the...

12/11/2017

Project MARS

IMPORTANT NOTE from friends of the Society:

"The Project Mars Competition is Open!

Join NASA’s Orion and Space Launch Systems teams and SciArt Exchange in visualizing humans venturing into deep space, to the Moon and beyond to Mars. Interested college students and early career professionals worldwide are invited to submit short films and graphic art about this mission, what astronauts may see, and their dreams for the future of exploration.

Entries will be judged by film and graphics industry professionals and NASA astronauts. Winning entries will be screened at an Opening Event at NASA visitor centers, NASA museum consortium members, micro cinemas, and other interested venues in Fall 2018. The top film will win $10,000, and the top poster will win $1500.

Entries are due August 31, 2018."

Bring your interpretation of NASA’s work to send humans to Mars to life through breathtaking cinematography, amazing animations and state-of-the-art special effects. You have up to 5 minutes to tell an inspiring story about a 9-month trek to the Red Planet, so captivating creativity is a must! The...

11/27/2017

Happy birthday to our very own Bill Nye; Science Guy, space advocate, and CEO of the Planetary Society!

11/27/2017

The Planetary Society - Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)

ATTENTION: New TPS group is making waves in Philly! If you have any friends or family up there, be sure to let them know about this great opportunity. The next event is on December 9th!

https://www.meetup.com/The-Planetary-Society-Philadelphia/?_cookie-check=Kt9Xnu9iTRKghTBY

This group is for members of the Planetary Society, or anyone with an interest in space exploration, space policy, technology, planetary science or other space topics. We meet to socialize and discuss

11/23/2017

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

11/10/2017

Check out this from TPS members Jack Kiraly and Debra Dearien Moye! Share yours in the comments!

11/07/2017

Saturn has four rings,
And three more are fainter still,
And sixty plus moons.

Let's write space haiku together! You have 5-7-5 syllables...go!

11/03/2017

The Planetary Society

The Planetary Society

Help NASA make the discovery of our lifetimes. Write Congress today: planet.ly/FundNASA2017

10/31/2017

After Cassini, What’s Next for the Outer Planets?

Check out this blog post by Society Director of Space Policy, Casey Dreier, about the successful event held in DC last week!

The Planetary Society likes to look ahead, and in that spirit we organized a reception at the Library of Congress to bring scientists, legislators, and their staff together to honor Cassini and get excited about our future in the outer planets.

10/28/2017

Drs. Giada Arney and Shawn Domagal-Goldman - Pale Rainbow Dots: The Search for Other Earths | Carnegie Institution for Science

Check out this great discussion from the Carnegie Science event last week!

What does it mean to be a habitable planet? How can we find life if it’s truly “alien” and different from life on Earth? And what techniques can we use to search for life on worlds orbiting distant stars? Drs. Arney and Domagal-Goldman will discuss the science behind these questions and the future t...

10/27/2017

“To explore strange new worlds…” NASA’s Dr. Padi Boyd Speaks about Exoplanets on November 2 | Inside Adams: Science, Technology & Business

Thank you to everyone who came to our Capitol Hill events this last week.

Coming up next week, the Library of Congress is putting on an awesome event focusing on exoplanet research! Be sure to attend or watch the webcast if you can!

On November 2, 2017, Dr. Padi Boyd, Chief of the Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, will speak at the Library of Congress about the thousands of planets discovered beyond our solar system and the evolving view of our place in the universe.

10/18/2017

Please join us next Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 to meet and discuss the future of space policy with Casey and Jason!

09/21/2017

Happy Thursday!

09/15/2017

The Planetary Society

Join our boss, Bill Nye, for lunch before the launch of our totally awesome solar sail: LightSail 2!

Win lunch at a launch with our CEO, Bill Nye The Science Guy!

As we say farewell to old missions, we look forward to new ones. Enter for a chance to win a trip to watch our LightSail 2 spacecraft launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy and hang out with The Science Guy at omaze.com/bill!

09/15/2017

😥 ...Cassini

09/14/2017

We're here at WeWork K Street, talking about the and the science done at the Saturn over the last 13 years.

09/12/2017

International Space Station

Check it out! is about to launch!

LIVE: Launch of crew members NASA Astronaut Joe Acaba, NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei, and Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin to the space station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

09/07/2017

Join Bill for an awesome livestream tomorrow!

Join us tomorrow with our CEO Bill Nye The Science Guy for a Facebook Live Q&A!

09/06/2017

Planetary Society hosts space policy reception at Australian Embassy

Check out the latest blog post by Planetary Society Senior Government Relations Manager Matt Renninger! What a great step up for our DC activities!

This year’s International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is being held in Adelaide, Australia. Thanks to the generous support of our members, The Society’s advocacy and outreach capability is rapidly expanding, and we decided to step up our IAC advocacy this year.

09/01/2017

Come on by Booth 312 at Escape Velocity and take a photo with our awesome CEO!

08/25/2017

Escape Velocity 2017 Volunteer Signup

Hi all!

Please go to the link below to sign up for volunteering for the Society at Escape Velocity 2017! Spots will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. I hope to see you all there!

https://goo.gl/forms/TJjZQxEL4WXc3TN73

Escape Velocity is taking place at the Marriott Wardman Hotel in the Woodley Park area of Washington, DC. The address: 2660 Woodley Rd NW, Washington, DC 20008. The Planetary Society will be located at booth 414. We have a limit of 3 volunteers per shift. Shifts are also flexible. Please contact Jac...