Every five years or so, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Division of Planetary Science (DPS) carries out a survey of the Planetary Science Workforce to learn about the demographics, educational background and employment experience of the planetary science workforce. The next survey will be led by Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science (CCAPS) senior research associate Julie Rathbun.
Rathbun and colleagues launched the 2026 survey Oct. 27 at the AAS-DPS annual meeting in Spokane, Washington.
“Science is driven by the people who do science, so to put our science into context, we need to know who is doing the science, what they are trained in and what their background is,” Rathbun said.
Results from the last survey, conducted in 2020, show that members of minoritized groups, including non-white scientists, scientists who are disabled, members of the LGBTQ+ community, or women, are underrepresented as principal investigators or co-Investigators in planetary science spacecraft mission teams, Rathbun said, and illuminate the critical need of greater diversity among planetary scientists.
The 2020 survey was used by the 2023 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey in its recommendations of how to shape the next decade’s planetary science and missions. The new survey will serve the same function for the 2030 Decadal Survey, Rathbun said.
Having led the creation and analysis of both the 2020 and 2026 Planetary Science Workforce Surveys, Rathbun is uniquely placed to see the trends in planetary science. During the Oct. 27 presentation, Rathbun emphasized that much work remains to be done to encourage Black, Indigenous, and other people of color to remain in the field of planetary science.
“Planetary science is an inherently interdisciplinary field,” Rathbun said, “and the more diversity of perspectives that can be brought to the research, the better the discoveries we can make.”
The 2020 survey showed that progress in this widening of perspective has been made since 2011; more sub-disciplines than previously were represented in the DPS membership survey. Rathbun expects the 2026 survey to continue that trend.
But while planetary science is getting more diverse in both areas of study and demographics, it still lags the U.S. labor force, the STEM labor force, and the physical science labor force, Rathbun noted.
One of the interesting facts brought to light by the 2020 survey, according to Rathbun, is that it showed that universities are the largest employer of planetary scientists, with NASA centers only employing a small percentage – though NASA continues to provide the majority of funding for planetary science research and missions.
Those missions, Rathbun said, continue to show inequities.
“There are barriers to success in planetary science for underrepresented minorities. Members of these groups are less likely to be on missions, and that has a serious impact on career success,” Rathbun said.
Linda B. Glaser is news and media relations manager for the College of Arts and Sciences
