An artistic representation of 10 hot Jupiters, studied with the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes.

Planetary Science Projects Division

Enabling planetary science and exploration through human missions to destinations beyond low Earth orbit.

The GSFC Planetary Science Projects Division (PSPD) manages projects that will advance the scientific understanding of the solar system in extraordinary ways, while pushing the limits of spacecraft and robotic engineering design and operations. NASA’s robotic explorers gather data to help scientists understand how planets form, what triggers different evolutionary paths among planets, the range of planetary-scale processes that shape a planet, and what makes planets habitable.

In searching for evidence of life beyond Earth, scientists use this data to target zones of habitability, study the contextual geology and chemistry of unfamiliar worlds, and expressions of life signatures. With this knowledge of our solar system near and far, NASA is enabling planetary science and exploration through human missions to destinations beyond low Earth orbit.

Current Projects

DAVINCI

The Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI) mission will explore Venus with a descent probe and a spacecraft flyby.

Dragonfly

The Dragonfly rotorcraft lander, the fourth mission in NASA’s New Horizons portfolio, will explore the prebiotic organic chemistry of Titan, the largest of Saturn’s 146 known moons.

HDL

Hazard Detection Lidar (HDL) is one of a complement of sensors under development as part of the Safe & Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) Program managed out of Johnson Space Center (JSC).

Photo of two men in blue lab jackets working on a copper colored box with wires

LEMS

The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is one of the first three payloads to be a part of Artemis III. It will perform long-term monitoring for moonquakes and meteorite impacts.

Earth's Moon against the backdrop of space

LExSO

The Lunar Exploration and Science Orbiter (LExSO), being led by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, is a mission concept for a lunar orbiter that will build on the successes of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

An artist's concept of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover on the surface of Mars. The ground is brown and dusty, and the sky is hazy and tan.

MOMA-MS

The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) is a mass spectrometer–based instrument that will examine samples on Mars to look for organic molecules—signs of past or present life.

This illustration shows a concept of what a rover fetching rock and soil samples on Mars for return to Earth could look like. The sample tube in this image would have been left on the surface by a previous mission, NASA's Mars 2020 rover.

MSR

The Capture, Containment and Retrieval System (CCRS) is a payload that is a part of the joint Mars Sample Return mission between NASA and the European Space Agency. The sample return mission architecture continues the work begun by NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, which is collecting samples on Mars for future return to Earth.

Artist’s impression of the Dragonfly rotorcraft-lander on the surface of Titan

OCELLUS

The Ocellus lidar system is a critical element of the Dragonfly rotorcraft lander that will explore the prebiotic organic chemistry of Titan, the largest of Saturn’s moons. The lidar is a laser-based imaging and ranging technology that will enable altimetry and Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) for Dragonfly

OSAM-1

On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) is a robotic spacecraft equipped with the tools, technologies and techniques needed to extend satellites' lifespans—even those not originally designed to be serviced.