The Planetary Society

Space Snapshot This is the first photograph ever taken from the surface of Mars. It was taken on July 20, 1976, by NASA’s Viking 1 lander shortly after landing on Mars. Viking 1 operated on Mars for 2,307 days, far exceeding its planned 90-day mission. Planetary Society Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier reflects on the Viking program’s lasting impact 50 years later. Image credit: NASA. Fact Worth Sharing After Viking 1 and 2, it took 17 years before NASA launched another Mars mission.

Space Snapshot You never know when you might make an impactful discovery. Amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe was using Google Maps to plan a camping vacation in 2024 when he came across a feature in Quebec's Côte-Nord region that reminded him of an impact crater. He reported the finding, and now field investigations have found geological evidence that this previously-unknown feature is indeed a crater from an impact 390 million years ago.

Written by Asa Stahl, PhD • Science Review by Bruce Betts, PhD July 17, 2026 The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s next flagship orbital observatory, with the power to reshape what we know about planets throughout the galaxy and help uncover the true nature of dark matter and dark energy. It is a mission on the same scale as the Hubble Space Telescope or the James Webb Space Telescope. Why is NASA launching the Roman Space Telescope?

Written by Ari Koeppel, PhD Policy and Advocacy Fellow, The Planetary Society July 15, 2026 On Monday, The Planetary Society submitted its formal comment on the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) proposed rule, "Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance," and the comment period is now closed. We were not alone. Thousands of our members and supporters filed comments of their own as part of a national wave of nearly 500,000 comments.

Space Snapshot On Sunday, July 5, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Hayabusa2 probe performed a close flyby of the asteroid Torifune, capturing this image of the two-lobed near-Earth object. Hayabusa2 aimed to fly very close past Torifune without colliding, and it came as close as 800 meters (0.5 miles) from the asteroid’s center.

Written by Kate Howells • Science Review by Asa Stahl, PhD July 7, 2026 On Sunday, July 5, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Hayabusa2 probe performed a close flyby of the asteroid Torifune. Torifune from Hayabusa2 The asteroid Torifune, as imaged by JAXA's Hayabusa2 spacecraft as it flew by.Image: ©JAXA, The University of Tokyo, Chiba Institute of Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo, AIST, Paris Observatory, IAC. What is asteroid Torifune?

Space Snapshot The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has officially begun its Legacy Survey of Space and Time. This 10-year project will observe the entire southern sky to create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of the Universe. Here you can see a tiny section of the first image released under the Legacy Survey, showing a foreground galaxy with thousands of others beyond it. See the full “Ocean of Stars” image and learn more about Rubin’s groundbreaking capabilities.

Space Snapshot On June 21, a new season began: summer in the northern hemisphere, and winter in the southern hemisphere. Earth’s changing seasons happen because of its tilted axis, which causes different parts of the planet to receive more sunlight at different times of year. Other planets experience seasons of their own. Here you can see three views from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft showing Saturn at different times of its year, when the Sun’s light strikes different parts of the planet.

Know the Cosmos and our place within it. Empowering the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration.

Know the Cosmos and our place within it. Empowering the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration.