Planetary Science Stories

A tiled collection of logos for Zooniverse projects. Each logo consists of a square containing two concentric circles formed of thick lines plus a diagonal slash. The colors, textures, backgrounds (and sometimes foregrounds) of each logo are customized for each project. For example, a project about penguins features photographs of penguins in its logo.

NASA Partner Zooniverse Receives White House Open Science Award

2 min read

Congrats to NASA partner Zooniverse for being named winners in the White House’s Year of Open Science Recognition Challenge! The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) designated 2023 as the year of Open Science, and invited innovators to submit stories of how…

Article2 days ago
Water-ice (blue) and dust (red) in the atmosphere of Mars above the cratered Martian surface as viewed from orbit by the THEMIS camera (false-color composite image).

Major Martian Milestones

1 min read

There’s good news from NASA’s Cloudspotting on Mars project! That’s the project that invites you to help identify exotic clouds high in the Martian atmosphere. Congratulations to the Cloudspotting on Mars team and all the volunteers who have helped spot Martian clouds!

Article5 days ago

NASA Grant Brings Students at Underserved Institutions to the Stars

5 min read

At the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, interns from Cal State LA are learning key skills studying the origins of life. What does wastewater management in Los Angeles have to do with the search for life on Mars? Eduardo Martinez certainly…

Article1 week ago
A cylindrical metal device with an azimuthal white channel mounted to a metal support structure inside a much larger metal chamber. A blue glow lights up the azimuthal chamber and a blue plume radiates light to the right of the thruster.

Pushing the Limits of Sub-Kilowatt Electric Propulsion Technology to Enable Planetary Exploration and Commercial Mission Concepts

6 min read

NASA has developed an advanced propulsion technology to facilitate future planetary exploration missions using small spacecraft. Not only will this technology enable new types of planetary science missions, one of NASA’s commercial partners is already preparing to use it for…

Article2 weeks ago
Artist’s concept of Dragonfly soaring over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan.

NASA’s Dragonfly Rotorcraft Mission to Saturn’s Moon Titan Confirmed

3 min read

NASA has confirmed its Dragonfly rotorcraft mission to Saturn’s organic-rich moon Titan. The decision allows the mission to progress to completion of final design, followed by the construction and testing of the entire spacecraft and science instruments. “Dragonfly is a…

Article3 weeks ago
Collage showing 14 of the 19 educators selected and one tortoise observer with eclipse glasses.

Infiniscope and Eclipse Soundscapes Collaboration Reaches 1,766 Middle School Students

3 min read

Arizona State University’s (ASU) Center for Education Through Exploration, in collaboration with Eclipse Soundscapes, a NASA Citizen Science initiative based at Advanced Research in Inclusion & STEAM Accessibility (ARISA) Lab, came together to empower a cohort of enthusiastic science educators…

Article3 weeks ago
This is a thermal image depicting several people gathered, likely indoors. The varying colors represent different temperatures, with warmer areas shown in red and yellow and cooler areas in green and blue. The people's heads and other body parts that are emitting more heat appear in warmer colors, indicating they are warmer than the surrounding environment.

NASA SCoPE Supports Science Activation Projects and Events for 2024 Eclipse

2 min read

The NASA SCoPE (Science Mission Directorate Community of Practice for Education) project aims to facilitate connections between NASA science subject matter experts (SMEs) and educational outreach opportunities aligned with the goals of NASA Science Activation (SciAct) teams. With the 2024…

Article4 weeks ago

NASA’s LRO Finds Photo Op as It Zips Past SKorea’s Danuri Moon Orbiter

2 min read

Editor’s Note: This feature was updated on April 9, 2024, to correct the velocity difference between spacecraft to 11,500 kilometers per hour. NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), which has been circling and studying the Moon for 15 years, captured several…

Article4 weeks ago

NASA’s NEOWISE Extends Legacy With Decade of Near-Earth Object Data

6 min read

As the infrared space telescope continues its long-duration survey of the universe, it is creating a unique resource for future astronomers to make new discoveries. NASA’s NEOWISE mission has released its 10th year of infrared data – the latest in…

Article4 weeks ago
Lori Rubino-Hare guides a group of 20 out-of-school-time educators sitting in small groups to examine PLANETS printed materials at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston STEAM lab.

It Takes a Village: Meaningful Collaborations to Broaden Participation in STEM

3 min read

The NASA Science Activation Program’s Planetary Learning Advancing the Nexus of Engineering, Technology, and Science (PLANETS) project team, led by Northern Arizona University, Engineering is Elementary, United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology, and WestEd, develops planetary science and engineering curricula…

Article2 months ago