Science and Technology
Studying salty lakes as planetary analogs
This year Dr. Jacob Buffo’s project, funded by a Planetary Society STEP Grant, began studying Earth’s salty lakes as analogs for extraterrestrial environments. His team’s fieldwork in British Columbia’s Cariboo Plateau involved multidisciplinary collaboration and advanced data collection using drones. These studies could inform future planetary exploration strategies and are possible thanks to our members’ support.
New insights into asteroid properties
The Asteroid Thermal Inertia Analyzer (ASTERIA) project, funded by a Planetary Society STEP Grant, is an innovative tool to measure how well asteroids retain heat, giving insight into their composition and structure. This year, the tool was tested on 10 well-known asteroids, including Bennu and Didymos, and validated as a promising new method of independently confirming findings from other techniques. The project represents an important step forward in the global effort to understand asteroids that could someday pose a threat to our planet.
Are We Alone? SETI project expands
UCLA’s “Are We Alone?” project, supported by a Planetary Society STEP Grant, engages citizen scientists to analyze data from the Green Bank Telescope in the search for technosignatures. This year, the project expanded its reach by adding new language translations in Bengali, French, Portuguese, and Italian to further broaden the engagement of citizen scientists worldwide. They’ve also continued to developing AI tools to accelerate data analysis, enhancing public involvement and scientific output.
LightSail continues to advance Solar Sailing
Five years after its launch, The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 continues to contribute to solar sailing research. NASA’s ACS3 mission, which launched on April 23, 2024 and successfully deployed its sails in September, was informed by LightSail 2’s results, in addition to Chief Scientist Bruce Betts supporting the mission’s review process. This work showcases the long-term value of innovative, member-supported projects.