The Planetary Society's Best of 2020 Awards

2020 has been a remarkable year for space science and exploration. What were the highlights for you?

Voting has ended for the Best of 2020 Awards, but please check back after 7 December when we will share the results!

Best solar system image taken this year:

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Most exciting moment in planetary science this year:

Confirmation of nearby exoplanet Proxima Centauri b:
In May, scientists using the Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile independently confirmed the existence of Proxima Centauri b, a planet orbiting the closest star to Earth. Discovered in 2016, Proxima Centauri b is located just more than 4 light-years away. The planet lies in the habitable zone of its star—the not-too-hot, not-too-cold region where liquid water can exist—and may be only slightly bigger than Earth.

Confirmation that Ceres’s bright spots come from salty water:
When NASA’s Dawn spacecraft arrived at the dwarf planet Ceres in 2015, it discovered bright spots formed by briny water bubbling from beneath the surface. In August, scientists announced that the water comes from a reservoir 40 kilometers deep and hundreds of kilometers wide. The implications for small worlds are vast: we knew icy moons like Europa could have subsurface water, warmed by the pull of a nearby giant planet’s gravity. Yet Ceres, all alone in the chilly asteroid belt, seems to have found a workaround.

Detection of phosphines in Venus’ atmosphere:
In September, scientists found phosphine, a chemical strongly associated with life, in Venus’ atmosphere. Some regions of the planet’s upper atmosphere are relatively temperate and hospitable, and phosphine could be the product of microbial life forms floating around the planet. Further investigations have raised doubts about the discovery; this remains an intriguing question to be explored.

Discovery of three buried lakes on Mars:
In October, a new look at data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft strengthened the case for saltwater lakes under Mars’ south polar cap. The results came from an analysis of 134 radar images taken over 10 years.

OSIRIS-REx collecting a sample from asteroid Bennu:
In October, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully collected and stowed a sample from asteroid Bennu. The probe is scheduled to depart Bennu next year and return the sample to Earth in September 2023. Researchers will study the sample to learn about the conditions of the early solar system.

Best comet NEOWISE image:

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Planetary science mission of the year:

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover

NASA’s Juno Jupiter orbiter

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

China’s Chang'e 4 lunar lander and rover

India’s Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter, lander, and rover

ESA’s Bepi-Colombo Mercury orbiters

JAXA’s Akatsuki Venus orbiter

NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter

ESA’s Mars Express orbiter

India’s Mangalyaan Mars orbiter

NASA’s InSight Mars lander

JAXA’s Hayabusa 2 asteroid sample-return spacecraft

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample-return spacecraft

Best LightSail 2 photo of Earth taken this year:

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Most exciting upcoming mission:

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover

NASA’s Europa Clipper orbiter

NASA’s Dragonfly Titan rotorcraft

ESA’s JUICE Jupiter/moons orbiter

The United Arab Emirates’ Hope Mars orbiter

China’s Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter, lander, and rover

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

Best human spaceflight image taken this year:

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The best thing that The Planetary Society accomplished with the support of our members this year:

Raising more than $62,000 for the 100 Earths project to fund the search for Earth-like exoplanets

Bringing together 115 Planetary Society members from 28 different states for our annual Day of Action in Washington, D.C.

LightSail 2 completing its primary mission to demonstrate controlled solar sailing for cubesats

Rallying our community to choose a name for a large Kuiper Belt object: Gonggong

Awarding $57,906 to 6 groups of astronomers around the world who work to find, track, and characterize near-Earth asteroids

One of these Shoemaker NEO Grant winners discovering a kilometer-wide asteroid that would create global devastation if it were to hit Earth

The United States Congress acknowledging the importance of The Planetary Society by introducing a formal resolution recognizing our 40th anniversary

NASA and JAXA selecting PlanetVac, a sample collection technology funded in part by Planetary Society members and donors, for a mission to the Moon and another to the Martian moon Phobos.

Voting has ended for the Best of 2020 Awards, but please check back after 7 December when we will share the results!