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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
The House's 2025 NASA Budget Creates Problems for Science, Artemis
The House would provide a 1% increase to NASA while shifting funding toward larger programs, leaving significant budgetary holes in smaller programs.
Charting the course for discovery
On June 28, 2024, The Planetary Society hosted a policy briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with the goal of educating congressional aides and advisors on the fundamental elements that drive NASA’s success in space science and the challenges facing the enterprise of scientific discovery.
Europe goes to Mars
NASA and ESA have signed a partnership agreement to get the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover down to the surface of Mars, getting the mission back on track after geopolitical factors delayed it.
Your impact: June solstice 2024
Growing space salads and advocating for exploration
What are competed planetary missions?
A critical part of a balanced exploration program, competed missions are scientist-led projects that cost less and occur more frequently than large, flagship-class missions.
What is the Outer Space Treaty?
An overview of one of international space law’s foundational documents.
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.