Momentum October 2026

Written by Richard Chute Chief Advancement Officer, The Planetary Society October 21, 2026 Einstein taught us that time and space are inextricably woven together, the warp and weft of our vast Universe, stitched with points of light and. Written by Richard Chute Chief Advancement Officer, The Planetary Society October 21, 2026 Einstein taught us that time and space are inextricably woven together, the warp and weft of our vast Universe, stitched with points of light and specks of dust that gravity has shaped.

It may be no surprise, then, that more than two years after its October 2024 launch, NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will fl y by Earth this December, still less than halfway through its journey to an icy moon of Jupiter. On December 3, Europa Clipper will streak past Earth just 3, 200 kilometers above our Southern Hemisphere, grabbing a gravity boost for the journey ahead.

More than 400, 000 messages to Congress helped secure this mission, making it one of our most successful advocacy campaigns ever. In 2024, NASA’s Europa Clipper left Earth on a journey to one of the most tantalizing destinations in our Solar System, Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, where a vast subsurface ocean may hold conditions for life.

On December 3, look up as the Clipper ship skims our atmosphere. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) If you are 70½ or older and have a traditional IRA, a QCD may be the most tax-efficient gift you can make.

A QCD allows you to transfer up to $111, 000 directly from your IRA to a qualified charity, without the distribution counting as taxable income. Unlike a standard cash gift, a QCD reduces your adjusted gross income whether you itemize or not, making it valuable under the new 2026 deduction rules.

Act before year-end to ensure your QCD counts for the 2026 tax year.

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