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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Our best proof of life on Mars yet? A deep dive into Cheyava Falls
A strange rock on Mars is different from anything we’ve seen before in the search for life.
A biosignature on Mars? Unpacking Perseverance's Cheyava Falls find
An interview with Joel Hurowitz of Stony Brook University, New York, one of the lead scientists involved in the discovery of possible biosignatures on Mars.
Where do 3I/ATLAS and other interstellar visitors come from?
Interstellar interlopers like 'Oumuamua and 3I/ATLAS could be our best bet at exploring other stars.
NASA: Perseverance found possible biosignatures in Martian rock
NASA’s Perseverance rover has identified a potential sign of past life on Mars — not a definitive detection, but perhaps the most compelling hint yet.
Rethinking the atoms of life
Astrobiologists aren't just looking at other worlds to search for life; they're looking back to ancient Earth and considering alternate biochemistries.
A test bed in the search for life
Updates from a Planetary Society STEP Grant-funded project.
China eyes Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus in the hunt for habitability
China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory and the Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering have proposed an orbiter and lander mission to explore Enceladus with a key focus on the moon’s potential habitability.
When space rocks get too close for comfort
Some of the best-documented encounters Earthlings have had with asteroids and meteorites.
How astronomers rank dangerous asteroids (and what that means for you)
A breakdown of the Torino scale, designed to give a quick sense of how worried you should be about an asteroid or comet.
Updates from our asteroid-hunting Shoemaker NEO Grant winners
An overview of updates from some of our previous Shoemaker NEO Grant winners.
Needles in the haystack
How advanced amateurs defend Earth from asteroids.
Capturing magic
A photographer’s guide to auroras.
The Fermi Paradox: Where are all the aliens?
The conditions for intelligent life to arise don't seem uncommon in the Cosmos. So where is everybody?
A possible sign of life on K2-18b? Here’s what it means — and why it's just the beginning
If dimethyl-sulfide truly exists on the planet K2-18 b, it could be a huge milestone in the search for life.
Are UFOs or UAPs real?
Something weird is happening — something that, even as an astronomer, I once struggled to explain.
EELS and the future of exploration
How artificial intelligence could traverse other worlds
Exploration on autopilot
The future of AI in space.
Computing in space exploration history
Before artificial intelligence, there was human ingenuity.
How space explorers could grow habitats from fungus
A NASA-funded project is exploring the possibility of using mycelium — the root-like structure in fungi — to grow habitats on the Moon or Mars.
Should you be worried about Asteroid 2024 YR4?
Experts weigh in about the recently discovered near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 that has about a 1% chance of impacting Earth on Dec. 22, 2032.