Alan Stern

New Horizons flew by Pluto, which is 4.67 billion miles from Earth (Farthest). #NewHorizon #Pluto @AlanStern

@JackMtCulberson @astropics @plutosavior @b0yle It doesn’t.

@astropics @plutosavior @AlanStern @b0yle All a planet needs to be considered one is just hydrostatic equilibrium and no nuclear fusion. Just as simple as that. Why does it even need to clear its orbit? (the only answer is: it doesn't have to clear its orbit.)

In your opinion, should Pluto be reclassified as a real planet?

@astropics Definitely should be recognised as one. It's the intrinsic properties that make it and all other dwarf planets real planets, instead of this weird orbit-clearing criterion whose answer to why isn't really there. @plutosavior @AlanStern @b0yle

@astropics Yes! Dwarf planets are planets too; they are a subclass of planets as intended by the scientist who coined the term, New Horizons principal investigator @AlanStern. They have the same geological processes as the larger rocky planets.

📣Announcement: ispace and the University of Leicester (UoL) have sign a payload service agreement for lunar Raman spectrometer mission! The payload to be delivered to the lunar surface on a future ispace mission is a Raman analytical spectroscopy instrument adapted from the original laser-based spectrometer developed for the ExoMars mission, and will be delivered by the University of Leicester, in collaboration with INTA (Madrid), the University of Aberdeen, RAL Space, and the University of Valladolid. The instrument will analyze the lunar surface to determine its molecular composition and identify resources that could support future human exploration missions. The Raman Spectrometer project is funded under the UK Space Agency (UKSA) Science and Exploration Bilateral Fund and represents a key step in advancing scientific instrumentation for in-situ lunar analysis. Under the agreement, ispace will provide payload transportation services through its Japanese entity aboard a future mission using its newly introduced ULTRA lunar lander. 🌕 Read more here: ispace-inc.com/news-en/?p=8866 #ispace #ULTRA #LunarLander #SpaceExploration

From Luxembourg to the @Space_Station. ​ Voyager is partnering with @Exobiosphere to provide mission management for their first scientific mission, OHTS-MVP. We’re providing the safety, verification and integration required to scale biotech research in microgravity.​ ​ Read the full announcement: businesswire.com/news/home/2026… ​ $VOYG #MissionReady #AcceleratingtheAdvantage

@AstroBioProf There is no such debate today. I would love to do this by Mike Brown won’t debate me and no one has invited me to such a debate.

Today at 1 PM EDT watch @AlanStern debate Pluto's planethood. See youtube.com/watch?v=tIr7RO…

"Sputnik Planum: A Geologically Active Impact Basin on Pluto" a 10 year old taped lecture at [tip of the hat to @AlanStern ] see youtube.com/watch?v=cFC8ZV…

Make Pluto a Planet Again - Sign the New Petition! c.org/N2Fgsj9zc8 via @Change

We’re accelerating the advantage of real-time processing to lay the foundation for a new era of space-based computing through our collaboration with @RedHat. As commercial and government organizations continue to rely on space-based data, this capability for real-time processing at the edge with less latency and lower operational costs is critical.​ Learn more here: tinyurl.com/2k69mfah #VOYG $VOYG #MissionReady #AcceleratingtheAdvantage

Pick of the week is the House Appropriations full cmte markup of the CJS (NASA/NOAA) bill on Wed., but lots more happening as usual (maybe Starship IFT-12???). What’s Happening in Space Policy May 9-16, 2026 spacepolicyonline.com/news/whats-hap…

ESA and JAXA finalize agreement on Apophis asteroid mission spacenews.com/esa-and-jaxa-f…

The science case for why Pluto should become a planet (again) The current IAU definition of planet is now 20 years old, and in that time, we've learned a whole lot more about moons and dwarf planets. Here's why they should be planets, too. bigthink.com/starts-with-a-…

I applaud President Trump’s whole-of-government effort to bring greater transparency to the American people on unidentified anomalous phenomena. At NASA, our job is to bring the brightest minds and most advanced scientific instruments to bear, follow the data, and share what we learn. We will remain candid about what we know to be true, what we have yet to understand, and all that remains to be discovered. Exploration and the pursuit of knowledge are core to NASA’s mission as we endeavor to unlock the secrets of the universe.

Full stack engineering

Nice spring day on Mount Royal in Montreal today! 🇨🇦

Congratulations to the creators of “Asteroids: Spark of Life” featured on PBS’s NOVA. The documentary film, which featured two SwRI Staff members, earned the Best Documentary Film award at Physics on Film 2026, hosted by the Institute of Physics. pbs.org/video/asteroid…

@quarkent1 @CuriosityonX Yes, they are planets; they are a subclass of planets. That was the intention of the scientist who coined the term back in 1991, @AlanStern. Orbit clearing is controversial & not required for planethood by the geophysical planet definition. phys.org/news/2017-02-g…

When you can’t go to space to test, you bring space to you.​ ​ At Voyager, our vacuum chambers simulate the conditions of space, allowing teams to test and validate hardware before it ever reaches orbit.​ ​ Want to join the fun? Check out our openings and apply today! voyagertechnologies.com/careers ​ ​ $VOYG #missionready

We were honored to welcome a high-level Japanese delegation, including Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan and President of the Japan–Luxembourg Parliamentary Friendship League (JLPFL) Yoshimasa Hayashi, to ispace-EUROPE. Thank you Minister Hayashi (@hayashi09615064 ) for taking time to visit our Luxembourg entity.