The Planetary Society

For Immediate Release September 18, 2026 Contact Haley Jain Haggerstone Email: Phone: +1-626-793-5100 PASADENA, Calif. (Sept. 18, 2026) — The Planetary Society announced a new partnership with GalaxyBox - the subscription box for space enthusiasts. GalaxyBox brings unique space-themed accessories, merchandise, and memorabilia every two months to subscribers around the globe. The two organizations have a shared mission of engaging with a growing community of space advocates.

Space Snapshot We tend to call Mars the red planet, but this recent image from ESA’s Mars Express orbiter reveals a world of coral pink and pearly white. This is the Thyles Rupes region of Mars, with dramatic cliff faces near the planet’s south pole. You can see a blue-white glacier in the lower left, a large crater with ice at the center of the image, patches of frost-covered dunes in the lower right, and dark volcanic material at the far right.

What we’d lose if NASA shut down two New Horizons instruments Written by Kirby Runyon Planetary geologist and research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute September 15, 2026 “Why have we not gone back?” As a planetary scientist, I’ve been hearing that question for a long time, for many worlds in the Solar System. Of course, we’ve heard it since 1972 regarding humans on the Moon.

Space Snapshot If you thought the hexagon on Saturn’s north pole wasn’t strange enough, how about a decagon on its south pole? Observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed this 10-sided shape formed on Saturn recently, no later than 2023, and may be strengthening. Hints of it were first discovered by a collaboration between amateur astronomers and professional researchers.

From Our Member Magazine The international missions that will explore the red planet Written by Ari Koeppel, PhD • Science Review by Bruce Betts, PhD September 7, 2026 For decades, it has passed over Mars like a rumor, glimpsed only sparingly by rovers and orbiters, its shadowy face watching down over Mars’ vermilion seas of sand and dust in silence.

From Our Member Magazine What to expect from NASA’s next great observatory Written by Jason Rhodes • Science Review by Bruce Betts, PhD September 7, 2026 In 1959, Nancy Grace Roman became the first chief of astronomy at NASA. She worked tirelessly to advocate for space telescopes to study the Universe. Her leadership and perseverance paid off with some of NASA’s greatest achievements, including telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Space Snapshot The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched this week. In this still from the launch livestream, you see the telescope drifting away after separating from the second stage of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket that carried it into space. Roman is now on its way to Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) away, where it will begin its mission to study dark matter, dark energy, and exoplanets. Image credit: NASA/SpaceX.

Streamlined departments will support the new 2030 Strategic Vision For Immediate Release September 03, 2026 Contact Andrew Pauly Email: Phone: +1-626-793-5100 PASADENA, Calif. (Sept.

Written by Asa Stahl, PhD • Science Review by Bruce Betts, PhD August 30, 2026 The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has officially launched. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off at 7:26 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the next-generation observatory toward its destination at Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) away. What is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope?

Space Snapshot Perseverance’s main job is to study things on the Martian surface, but it’s always worth looking up. Earlier this month, the NASA rover captured this view of Mars’ tiny moon Phobos passing in front of the Sun. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/SSI. Fact Worth Sharing If Phobos orbited a few thousand kilometers closer to Mars, its apparent size from the surface could be enough to create a total solar eclipse.