Bill Nye with members in front of NASA logo
Bill Nye with members in front of NASA logo
The Planetary Society implemented the Space for Everyone five-year strategic planning framework in 2019, which elucidated the organization’s big-picture goals and priorities. Now, the Society is preparing to roll out a new framework in late 2025.
Planetary Society Director of Content and Engagement Rae Paoletta caught up with COO Jennifer Vaughn to recap the most recent strategic planning era and preview what’s to come.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Rae Paoletta: What is a strategic planning framework, and why is it helpful for The Planetary Society to have one?
Jennifer Vaughn: I think if you asked 1,000 different people, you might get 1,000 different answers that are ever so slightly different from one another. But a strategic framework, or a strategic plan, is a commitment to how you intend to develop your company, your organization, your life — it can apply to anything. And for The Planetary Society, this is very much a deep look at where we are at a given moment and then an aspirational look at where we want to go. The plan helps you develop your pathway for getting there — or your best guess at a pathway for getting there.
RP: Over the last five years or so, how has The Planetary Society advanced our three core enterprises: explore worlds, find life, and defend Earth?
JV: The first thing we did back in 2019 was commit to working on only the core enterprises, and that was a big deal for the organization. Before the 2019 to 2024 plan, there was a bit more uncertainty about where our boundaries were. Space is huge, and so we had to decide: What do we do? What don’t we do? Since we are a relatively small nonprofit, we simply can’t do it all.
That allowed us to be very bold in our policy principles, which became very well defined during this period. They’re on our website so anyone can see how we advocate and how we work to shape decision-making around those three core enterprises.
On the education front, having our core enterprises has allowed us to build out long-term evergreen resources on our website that help our audience truly understand the worlds that we’re exploring and how we’re exploring them.
And our science and technology grants actively support work in all three core enterprises. With planetary defense, we’ve been able to give more money to more researchers through our Shoemaker Grants.
Long exposure from ISS
City lights in northern Mexico streak by in this long-exposure photograph taken from the International Space Station on Oct. 24, 2024.
RP: What victories from the last five years are you most proud of?
JV: We have a digital community that allows for a deeper connection with our members, and I just love that community so much. If I ever start feeling a little down or like I need a lift, going into the community and watching our members interact with each other makes me feel great. Having a digital community was one of the initiatives of this planning period, and I’m super excited to see it grow.
There’s also the Day of Action, which we started back in 2019. Right when we kicked off this current strategic plan, we had our first Day of Action, and it has been so successful on so many fronts. Our members who attend are so committed that they put their own time and money into going to Washington, D.C., getting trained, and really being the face of the public that wants more scientific exploration of our Solar System and beyond. I think it’s very refreshing for legislators to hear that and to see it directly.
Our new STEP Grant program provides seed funding for new science and technology projects. We’ve always done this kind of work of funding smaller or niche projects — things that were maybe struggling to get initial backing — but they’re really valuable steps to science and technology. What we didn’t have until this most recent strategic period is the framework for an open call for proposals specifically supporting the three core enterprises, a regular cadence of grants, and the beginning of an endowment to provide future support.
It was also during this footprint that LightSail 2 happened. In 2019, we had an active spacecraft, and LightSail 2 was orbiting and sending down data. We were changing the orbits, and we were seeing so many beautiful images. I’m still awed that 50,000 everyday people came together to make that mission a reality. It’s truly astounding. The work of LightSail continues to have a real impact out there, and I will always be very, very proud of the accomplishment.
I hope that our members recognize that these achievements are theirs. It’s their support that makes this all possible. Through initiatives like our Beyond the Horizon campaign, it’s a victory in itself to see how our space community comes together to create the future of space exploration that we all want to see.
RP: What can we expect to see in the next strategic framework?
JV: I don’t have details I can share yet because we’re just maybe a third of the way through this process. But there are certain themes that are showing up that I know are going to matter to us. One is international connection. Starting from 1983, the organization committed to being an international group and not a U.S. group. We are based in the U.S. and have mostly U.S. members. So in many ways, there will always be a lot of United States emphasis and perspective, but it’s very important to us that the whole world is getting excited about space. It’s very important to us that there is a place for the whole world to come together and that we are trying to create a global movement for the scientific exploration of our Solar System and beyond.
RP: What are you most excited about as the Society enters a new strategic planning era in 2025?
JV: The future! I’m excited about new generations getting excited about space exploration and more people from around the world getting involved. The year 2030 will be The Planetary Society’s 50th anniversary, so I’m also excited by a new influx of energy, ideas, and perspectives that are being brought into the organization. By 2030, we want to be the best-ever version of The Planetary Society. I’m also excited that Apophis is going to come by Earth during this period. Apophis has been part of our story for two decades, and in 2029, it’s finally passing by Earth. That’s going to be a big milestone.
And of course, Europa Clipper is going to arrive, NEO Surveyor is scheduled to launch, and the Rosalind Franklin rover will be landing on Mars. It’s going to be a great time to be exploring space.
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