Make a mask and pretend to be your favorite planet in our solar system! do Learn more about asteroids, meteors, meteoroids, meteorites, and comets! exploreĪnd what can we learn from these space rocks in our solar system? explore exploreĪsteroid or Meteor: What's the Difference? It all has to do with the distance between Earth and the sun and Earth and the moon. How Is the Sun Completely Blocked in an Eclipse? Learn more about what happens when the moon passes between Earth and the sun! explore We can use a planet’s gravitational pull like a scale! explore Yes, there is ice beyond Earth! In fact, ice can be found on several planets and moons in our solar system. What Is the Weather Like on Other Planets?Įach of the planets in our solar system experiences its own unique weather.
The biggest planet in our solar system explore exploreĭrive around the Red Planet and gather information in this fun coding game! play But did you know that on Mercury you’d have a birthday every 88 days? Read this article to find out how long it takes all the planets in our solar system to make a trip around the Sun. You probably know that a year is 365 days here on Earth. Where there are signs of water, there might also be signs of life! explore In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History.Color Your Universe: Find the Hidden ObjectsĬan you find all the NASA and space-themed hidden objects? play Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. He previously developed online content for the National Space Society and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, helped establish the space tourism company Space Adventures and currently serves on the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society, the advisory committee for The Mars Generation and leadership board of For All Moonkind. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018. Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of, an online publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. All rights reserved.Ĭ Editor, Contributor Postal Service's 1991 solar system-inspired "Space Exploration" stamps.įollow on Facebook and on Twitter at collectSPACE. The only space-themed subject on the Post's acquired list is the "Solar System." Whether that means that the CSAC chose to combine the New Horizons' request with the solar system issue or if it is still under review (or has now been rejected) is still to be seen.Ĭlick through to to see the U.S. A year later and the approved subjects list published by The Washington Post, which included stamp topics for 2014 through 2016, didn't include mention of New Horizons or Pluto. In February 2013, the New Horizons team received notice that their idea would be put up for review by the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC). Six years later, the probe's flight team and more than 12,000 supporters petitioned the USPS to issue a stamp for the spacecraft in 2015, to coincide with its flyby of Pluto. One of those Pluto stamps was launched toward the small icy world on NASA's New Horizons mission in 2006. The set's ninth stamp, for Pluto, was labeled "Not Yet Explored." 1, 1991, the USPS "Space Exploration" pane included nine different stamps - one for each planet and a U.S. The MESSENGER issue was the third stamp to depict the planet Mercury, including the USPS's first set inspired by the solar system. The Alan Shepard stamp marked the first time the USPS honored a NASA astronaut. On May 4, 2011, the USPS issued a pair of stamps (or "se-tenant") to commemorate both the 50th anniversary of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard launching to become the first American in space and NASA's MESSENGER probe becoming the first spacecraft to orbit the planet Mercury. space or astronomy-topical stamps in three years. If they are released this year, the "Solar System" stamps will be the first U.S. The leaked reports do not stipulate how many different stamp designs would comprise the set. No other details about the planetary-themed postage have been made public. To date, the USPS has released information about stamps it plans to issue this year through July. In recent years, the USPS has chosen to reveal new issues as the year progresses.
In the past, the Postal Service announced most of its next year's stamp schedule at once.