Planetary Science

Comets
Asteroids
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Planetary Defense
Planetary Defense Coordination Office
Planetary Science
The Sun & Solar Physics
New research led by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California has revealed the identity of a puzzling near-Earth object by precisely tracking its motion through space and using powerful observatories that image faint celestial objects.
Posted July 16, 2026
Mars
Asteroids
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Perseverance (Rover)
Planetary Science
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has uncovered evidence that a 245-foot-thick (75-meter-thick) stack of ancient rock on the rim of Jezero Crater was built by repeated asteroid impacts. Referred to as the “Broom Point member” by the rover’s science team, this sequence of layered bedrock is likely more than 3.9 billion years old, making it among […]
Posted July 15, 2026
Mars Exploration Program
Planetary Science
July 8, 2026 C.13 NASA Awards Contracts for Mars Advanced Surface Mobility Technology NASA has selected seven companies for contract awards under the Mars Exploration Program’s Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration, or STRIDE, initiative to advance next-generation commercial robotic surface mobility for future Mars
Posted July 8, 2026
Deep Space Network
Dwarf Planets
Missions
NASA Directorates
New Horizons
Planetary Science
Planetary Science Division
Pluto
Science Mission Directorate
The Kuiper Belt
The Solar System
Uncategorized
Following its longest hibernation period ever of nearly a year, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has emerged in good health and is ready to begin transmitting science data gathered in the distant Kuiper Belt far beyond Pluto.
Posted July 7, 2026
Ames Research Center
Ames Research Center's Science Directorate
Astrophysics
Exoplanet Discoveries
Exoplanet Science
Exoplanets
Gas Giant Exoplanets
Planetary Science
Planetary Science Division
Science Mission Directorate
Studying Exoplanets
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
NASA has revealed two new “super-puff” planets, giant worlds so light that their density is comparable to cotton candy. Scientists calculate that these Jupiter-sized planets are the “puffiest” worlds ever found.
Posted June 25, 2026
Asteroids
Goddard Space Flight Center
Lucy
Missions
NASA Centers & Facilities
NASA Directorates
Planetary Science
Planetary Science Division
Science & Research
Science Mission Directorate
The Solar System
Trojan Asteroids
Even small asteroids lead complex lives. During its flyby of the asteroid Donaldjohanson last year, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft revealed the asteroid to be a wobbly, peanut-shaped body that has undergone a lot of activity in its relatively short history.
Posted June 18, 2026
Citizen Science
Planetary Science
Uncategorized
As NASA’s Artemis II astronauts zipped around the Moon in early April, they observed flashes of light caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface. At the same time, volunteers for the NASA-funded Impact Flash project scanned the Moon with their own telescopes and sent their videos to scientists to share what they saw from Earth.
Posted April 27, 2026
Astrophysics Division
Comets
Goddard Space Flight Center
Hubble Space Telescope
Planetary Science
Small Bodies of the Solar System
The Solar System
Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence that the spinning of a small comet slowed and then reversed its direction of rotation, offering a dramatic example of how volatile activity can affect the spin and physical evolution of small bodies in the solar system. This is the first time researchers have observed evidence […]
Posted March 26, 2026
Asteroids
Astromaterials
Bennu
Goddard Space Flight Center
Johnson Space Center
OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer)
Planetary Science
Planetary Science Division
In one of the biggest surprises of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, its target asteroid, Bennu, turned out to be a jagged, rugged world covered in large boulders, with few of the smooth patches of sandy or pebbly material scientists had expected based on observations with Earth-based instruments.
Posted March 17, 2026
For Researchers
Grants & Opportunities
Lunar Science
Planetary Science
Science Mission Directorate
This letter from SARA is to issue a waiver for NASA grantees attending LPSC2026, allowing them to be reimbursed out of their grants for their actual lodging, although it’s expected to be above the approved GSA amount. This waiver does not supersede the travel policy of your institution if it is more restrictive. Note: I have […]
Posted January 23, 2026
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