NASA scientists are pushing to make Pluto a planet again

Pluto might get a second chance at being a planet. A group of NASA scientists has submitted a request to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to broaden the definition of what classifies as a planet. If the new definition were to win IAU's approval, Pluto — presently considered a "dwarf planet" — and 109 other space objects would become planets.
Pluto lost its planetary status in 2006 after the IAU voted in favor of a new, three-part definition of what it takes to be a planet. Pluto met two of the three criteria, as it orbits around the sun and has sufficient mass to maintain the round shape characteristic of planets. However, Pluto is just not big enough to clear other objects out of its orbital space, and thus it was downgraded from the planetary status it had held since 1930.
Alan Stern, head of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto and one of the scientists behind the new definition, has deemed Pluto's demotion "bulls--t." The scientists argue the definition determined in 2006 is too narrow, and suggest it should be expanded to include all "round objects in space that are smaller than stars." "In the mind of the public, the word 'planet' carries a significance lacking in other words used to describe planetary bodies," the proposal reads. "In the decade following the supposed 'demotion' of Pluto by the International Astronomical Union, many members of the public, in our experience, assume that alleged 'non-planets' cease to be interesting enough to warrant scientific exploration."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Should Britain withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights?
Talking Point With calls now coming from Labour grandees as well as Nigel Farage and the Tories, departure from the ECHR 'is starting to feel inevitable'
-
5 outspoken cartoons about Epstein survivors taking center stage
Cartoons Artists take on cover-ups, Trump surrounded, and more
-
Codeword: September 6, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th test
speed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Colorado
speed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's study
Speed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-off
Speed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet undersea
Speed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 years
Speed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition