The Planetary Society
The Planetary Society is an American internationally-active non-governmental nonprofit organization. It is involved in research, public outreach, and political space advocacy for projects related to astronomy, planetary science, and space exploration. It was founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman. It is currently led by Bill Nye as CEO. The Planetary Society encompasses a community of over 2 million space enthusiasts and 40,000 members from more than 80 countries around the world. It is largely funded by individual donations.
The society is dedicated to the scientific exploration of the Solar System, the search for extraterrestrial life, and defending Earth from potentially hazardous near-Earth objects. The society's mission is stated as: "Empowering the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration." The Planetary Society is a strong advocate for space funding and missions of exploration, particularly within NASA. They engage Congress and encourage residents of the United States to speak up in support of NASA, with annual in-person advocacy at their Day of Action in Washington, D.C. The Planetary Society has organized campaigns that have been credited with helping prevent the cancellation of the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the VERITAS mission to Venus. It has also organized major efforts in support of the Europa Clipper and NEO Surveyor missions.
In addition to advocacy, The Planetary Society sponsors science and technology projects related to the search for life, planetary exploration, and asteroid defense. It has supported several major SETI surveys to look for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence, including a collaboration with Steven Spielberg that financed the most advanced SETI survey at the time. In 2011, a microgravity experiment built by The Planetary Society was tested aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, and in 2015, The Society crowdfunded a pair of spacecraft to demonstrate solar sailing technology. The first, LightSail 1, launched on May 20, 2015, and performed a test deployment of its solar sail on June 7, 2015. LightSail 2 launched on June 25, 2019, and successfully used sunlight to change its orbit.
To promote public engagement with space science and exploration, The Planetary Society also regularly produces articles, videos, the Planetary Radio podcast, children’s books, and educational programming. It publishes a quarterly magazine, The Planetary Report, and hosts in-person events around the world. As of 2025, The Planetary Society’s social media channels have been nominated for two Webby awards.
History
The Planetary Society was founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman as a champion of public support of space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life. Until the death of Carl Sagan in 1996, the society was co-led by Sagan, who used his celebrity and political clout to influence the political climate of the time, including protecting SETI from congressional cancellation in 1981. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the society pushed its scientific and technological agenda, which led to an increased interest in rover-based planetary exploration and NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto. The principal investigator of New Horizons, Alan Stern, has credited The Planetary Society with having helped prevent the mission from being cancelled at multiple points during its development.In the 1990s, The Planetary Society began advocating for a mission to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa and assess its potential to host life. This mission would eventually be officially developed as NASA’s Europa Clipper. In 2013, when the United States Congress was considering cancelling the mission, The Planetary Society launched a multi-year advocacy campaign and met frequently with Congressman John Culberson, then chair of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. As part of this advocacy campaign, Society members sent over 380,000 letters to their political representatives in support of Europa Clipper.
In addition to its advocacy efforts, the society has created and sponsored a number of space-related science and technology projects. In 1981, The Planetary Society partnered with NASA to fund Suitcase SETI, a project which eventually grew into Sentinel, the first dedicated high-resolution survey to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Since then, the society has supported several other SETI surveys. In the 1990s, it began expanding assistance to a wider variety of scientific projects, including a network of amateur astronomers dedicated to the study of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects. In the 2010s, the Society crowdfunded and built a pair of spacecraft dedicated to testing solar sailing technology. Society members also helped fund the development of Honeybee Robotics’ PlanetVac instrument, which landed on the Moon as part of Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 on March 2, 2025. In the 2020s, the society announced the creation of a regular grant program to support space-related research projects.
On April 11, 2025, The Planetary Society launched its "Save NASA Science" advocacy campaign in response to the White House Office of Management and Budget's proposal to cut NASA's science funding by 47% for the 2026 fiscal year, with the society stating the cuts were "unprecedented, unstrategic, and wasteful." On July 30, 2025, The Planetary Society and several other scientific advocacy organizations announced a joint Day of Action on October 5 and October 6 in Washington, D.C.
Organization
The Planetary Society membership structure follows a centralized, Board-directed, staff-managed model. Rather than being organized as regional chapters, members in the US and around the world may interact with each other and the organization through its active online member community. Membership is offered at tiered levels and may be maintained on either an annual or recurring monthly basis.The Planetary Society is currently governed by a 12-member volunteer Board of Directors chosen for their passion about and knowledge of space exploration. The Board has a Chair, President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and normally meets twice per year to set the society's policies and future directions. Nominations are sought and considered periodically from a variety of sources, including from members of the Board and Advisory Council, Society Members, staff, and experts in the space community. On June 7, 2010, the society announced that American science educator Bill Nye would become the new executive director of the society.
Board of directors
The Planetary Society's current board of directors consists of:- Bill Nye, chief executive officer
- Daniel Geraci, chairman of the board
- Bethany Ehlmann, president and member of executive committee
- Heidi Hammel, vice president and member of executive committee
- Lon Levin, treasurer of the board and member of executive committee
- Jim Bell, secretary and member of executive committee
- John Grunsfeld
- Dipak Srinivasan
- Britney Schmidt
- Bijal Thakore
- Newton Campbell Jr.
- Robert Picardo
- Lorne Trottier
A number of major public figures have served on the board or advisory council of The Planetary Society in the past, including astronauts Sally Ride and Michael Collins; authors Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Stephen Jay Gould, and Isaac Asimov; Hollywood stars Paul Newman, Steven Spielberg, and John Rhys-Davies; Nobel Prize winner Harold Urey; senators Harrison Schmittand Adlai Stevenson III; former Secretary of Education Shirley Hufstedler; and astronomers Neil Degrasse Tyson, James Van Allen, and Frank Drake.
Additionally, The Planetary Society has been endorsed by James Cameron, Brian May, Seth MacFarlane, Gene Roddenberry, and a variety of actors famed for their roles in Star Trek.