Planetary Science at the USGS

Planetary science is the study of planetary bodies beyond Earth. This includes planets, moons, and asteroids. For over 60 years, planetary scientists at the USGS have worked with NASA to plan and complete missions, and use the data from those missions to better understand our solar system. USGS scientists work across many fields in planetary science - like studying how geologic processes work across the solar system, participating in rover missions, training astronauts to return to the Moon, making geologic maps of other planetary bodies, laboratory investigations of minerals and rocks, and processing mission data so other scientists can use it in their work.