Planetary Society Archives - SpaceNews https://spacenews.com Covering the business and politics of space Mon, 05 May 2025 22:55:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-SN_forza_star-32x32.png Planetary Society Archives - SpaceNews https://spacenews.com 32 32 80681979 NASA budget proposal draws strong criticism https://spacenews.com/nasa-budget-proposal-draws-strong-criticism/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-budget-proposal-draws-strong-criticism/#respond Mon, 05 May 2025 22:38:09 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=516928

The White House’s proposal to cut NASA’s budget by nearly 25% and cancel several major programs has drawn criticism from industry and members of Congress, while raising concerns among international partners.

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]]> https://spacenews.com/nasa-budget-proposal-draws-strong-criticism/feed/ 0 516928 Bill Nye on NASA budget cuts & key space issues https://spacenews.com/bill-nye-on-nasa-budget-cuts-key-space-issues/ https://spacenews.com/bill-nye-on-nasa-budget-cuts-key-space-issues/#respond Thu, 17 Apr 2025 17:39:43 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=516353 Bill Nye

In this week's episode of Space Minds, Bill Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society sits down with host David Ariosto. The conversation starts with Bill's journey but quickly pivots to the proposed science budget cuts at NASA.

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]]> https://spacenews.com/bill-nye-on-nasa-budget-cuts-key-space-issues/feed/ 0 516353 NASA, JAXA to Send Sampling Technology to Moon and Phobos https://spacenews.com/nasa-jaxa-to-send-sampling-technology-to-moon-and-phobos/ Mon, 12 Oct 2020 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=82768 NASA and Japan’s space agency JAXA have selected a new low-cost sample collection technology for 2 missions to the Moon and the Martian moon Phobos.PlanetVac, developed by Altadena, California-based Honeybee […]

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]]> 463328 Amateur Astronomer Discovers Large Near-Earth Asteroid https://spacenews.com/amateur-astronomer-discovers-large-near-earth-asteroid/ Thu, 10 Sep 2020 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=82591 An amateur astronomer has discovered a kilometer-wide asteroid that would create global devastation if it were to hit the Earth. Thankfully that won’t happen: the asteroid will miss our planet […]

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]]> 82591 Mars 2020 Launch Party https://spacenews.com/mars-2020-launch-party/ Tue, 28 Jul 2020 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=82374 NASA’s most advanced Mars rover, Perseverance, is set to launch on 30 July 2020. The public is invited to join a free watch party livestream featuring space exploration luminaries: Bill […]

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]]> 82374 Planetary Society Awards Nearly $58,000 to Amateur Asteroid Hunters https://spacenews.com/planetary-society-awards-nearly-58000-to-amateur-asteroid-hunters/ Thu, 19 Dec 2019 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=81400 The Planetary Society is pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 Shoemaker Near Earth Object (NEO) Grant program, named after pioneering planetary geologist Gene Shoemaker. Shoemaker grants support very […]

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]]> 81400 LightSail 2 Phones Home to Mission Control https://spacenews.com/lightsail-2-phones-home-to-mission-control/ Wed, 03 Jul 2019 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=80662 The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 spacecraft sprang loose from its Prox-1 carrier vehicle as planned today, and sent its first signals back to mission control at Cal Poly San Luis […]

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]]> 80662 Public Invited to Help Name Solar System’s Largest Unnamed World https://spacenews.com/public-invited-to-help-name-solar-systems-largest-unnamed-world/ Tue, 09 Apr 2019 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=80281 More than 10 years since its discovery, (225088) 2007 OR10 is the largest minor planet in our solar system without a name, and the 3 astronomers who discovered it want […]

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]]> 461401 Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson Celebrate Past & Future of Space Exploration at Planetary Society’s 35th Anniversary https://spacenews.com/bill-nye-neil-degrasse-tyson-celebrate-past-future-of-space-exploration-at-planetary-societys-35th-anniversary/ Sat, 24 Oct 2015 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=73514 Tyson receives Cosmos Award; “Martian” author Andy Weir, space stars delight community Beyond the horizon,over the the next hill,that’s where we make discoveriesthat’s the new frontier.It is in us to […]

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]]> 73514 LightSail Test Flight Named Mission of the Year at SmallSat Conference https://spacenews.com/lightsail-test-flight-named-mission-of-the-year-at-smallsat-conference/ Fri, 14 Aug 2015 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=72991 At the 29th annual American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)/Utah State University (USU) Conference on Small Satellites, The Planetary Society’s citizen-funded LightSail spacecraft test mission (LightSail-A) was named Mission […]

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]]> 72991 LightSail Unfurls Its Sail https://spacenews.com/lightsail-unfurls-its-sail/ Tue, 09 Jun 2015 16:05:05 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=13299

The Planetary Society’s LightSail test mission successfully completed its primary objective of deploying a solar sail in low-Earth orbit, mission managers said today. During a ground station pass over Cal […]

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]]> 455626 Planetary Society Announces “Humans Orbiting Mars” Workshop Results https://spacenews.com/planetary-society-announces-humans-orbiting-mars-workshop-results/ Thu, 02 Apr 2015 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=71859

Washington, D.C. (April 2, 2015) — The Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye (The Science Guy®) and members of the Society’s Board of Directors today announced results of the ”Humans Orbiting Mars” workshop. […]

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]]> 71859 Top Space Science, Industry & Policy Leaders Address Strategy to Send Humans to Mars https://spacenews.com/top-space-science-industry-policy-leaders-address-strategy-to-send-humans-to-mars/ Tue, 17 Mar 2015 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=71731 Bill Nye & The Planetary Society Convene the “Humans Orbiting Mars” Workshop Overview: The Planetary Society’s “Humans Orbiting Mars” workshop is an invitation-only gathering of top science, engineering, and policy […]

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]]> 455150 New Details Released for Citizen-Funded LightSail Spacecraft Launch https://spacenews.com/new-details-released-for-citizen-funded-lightsail-spacecraft-launch/ Mon, 09 Mar 2015 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=71629 The Planetary Society’s privately funded LightSail spacecraft has arrived in Cape Canaveral, Fla., where it will be integrated with an Atlas V rocket scheduled to launch no earlier than May […]

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]]> 455094 Planetary Society Announces LightSail Spacecraft Test Flight https://spacenews.com/planetary-society-announces-lightsail-spacecraft-test-flight/ Mon, 26 Jan 2015 11:52:44 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=12575

The Planetary Society today announced the first of its LightSail spacecraft will embark on a May 2015 test flight. Funded entirely by private citizens, the solar sail satellite will hitch […]

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]]> 454834 The Planetary Society Celebrates Orion’s Maiden Voyage, Congratulates NASA https://spacenews.com/the-planetary-society-celebrates-orionaeurs-maiden-voyage-congratulates-nasa/ Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=70961

Pasadena, CA (December 5, 2014) – In response to today’s successful maiden voyage of the Orion spacecraft – Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1), a two-orbit shakedown cruise designed to test […]

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]]> 454604 The Planetary Society’s Highly-Innovative Solar Sail Scheduled to Ride Into Orbit Aboard SpaceX Falcon Heavy, The World’s Most Powerful Rocket https://spacenews.com/the-planetary-societyaeurs-highly-innovative-solar-sail-scheduled-to-ride-into-orbit-aboard-spacex-falcon-heavy-the-worldaeurs-most-powerful-rocket/ Wed, 09 Jul 2014 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=69912 The Planetary Society, the world’s largest and most influential space interest group, is scheduled to announce the launch of its LightSail solar sail mission – which will reach space on […]

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]]> 69912 Planetary Society Decries NASA Science Cuts – Calls on Congress to Support Planetary Exploration https://spacenews.com/planetary-society-decries-nasa-science-cuts-calls-on-congress-to-support-planetary-exploration/ Thu, 27 Mar 2014 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=69285 The Planetary Society has released its official response to the President’s 2015 NASA budget request, in which it decries the hundreds of millions of dollars of cuts to NASA’s science […]

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]]> 69285 US Congress Rejects White House Cuts to Planetary Exploration…Again https://spacenews.com/us-congress-rejects-white-house-cuts-to-planetary-explorationaeuragain/ Tue, 14 Jan 2014 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=68687 PASADENA, CA (December 12, 2013) – The FY2014 Omnibus spending bill, now before the U.S. Congress, once again rejects cuts to NASA’s Planetary Science Division that were sought by the […]

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]]> 68687 Bill Nye Calls on President Obama to Embrace Planetary Exploration for NASA’s Future https://spacenews.com/bill-nye-calls-on-president-obama-to-embrace-planetary-exploration-for-nasas-future/ Mon, 09 Dec 2013 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=68484 PASADENA, CA (December 9, 2013) – Bill Nye the Science Guy(R) and CEO of The Planetary Society sent President Barack Obama an open letter last week, asking him to move […]

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]]> 68484 Planetary Society Conditionally Supports NASA’s Asteroid Mission https://spacenews.com/planetary-society-conditionally-supports-nasas-asteroid-mission/ Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=67190 NASA’s asteroid mission could represent a new milestone in humanity’s presence in and influence on the solar system. For the first time in history, we would capture an entire object […]

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]]> 67190 Nine-Year-Old Names Asteroid Target of NASA Mission in Competition Run By The Planetary Society https://spacenews.com/nine-year-old-names-asteroid-target-of-nasa-mission-in-competition-run-by-the-planetary-society/ Wed, 01 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=67069 Asteroid (101955) 1999 RQ36 now has the much friendlier name “Bennu,” thanks to a 3rd-grade student from North Carolina. That’s good, because the asteroid now called Bennu will soon have […]

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]]> 67069 The Planetary Society Takes Central Role in Asteroid Detection, Tracking, and Characterization https://spacenews.com/the-planetary-society-takes-central-role-in-asteroid-detection-tracking-and-characterization/ Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=66983

NEO Shoemaker Grants Make Historical Discoveries Providing Vital Funding to International Asteroid-Tracking Community At a major planetary defense conference in Flagstaff, AZ last evening, the Planetary Society announced the winners […]

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]]> 66983 Let NASA Pursue a Balanced Planetary Exploration Program https://spacenews.com/let-nasa-pursue-a-balanced-planetary-exploration-program/ Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:00:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/spaceref/?p=66333

Congress and the Obama Administration should allow NASA to start a new mission to Europa, ensure that the 2020 Rover caches samples of Mars, and increase the cadence of Discovery-class […]

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