Europe reaching for the planets Europe hosts one of the largest communities of planetary scientists, spread across all Member States. An EU-funded initiative has now forged a significant degree of cohesion and unity of purpose among them. Energy © Thinkstock The research infrastructure needed to address major planetary science questions extends beyond space missions. It requires a diversity of tools that should be shared among scientists to properly interpret observations and propose new theoretical models. To address this need, a series of transnational activities have opened up to a broad community of users laboratory facilities and field sites, advanced modelling and data analysis resources tailored for planetary research. The 'European planetology network' (EUROPLANET) was the initiative of European scientists working on the Cassini–Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan, its largest moon. In its initial phase, EUROPLANET helped researchers define common science goals and exchange ideas as well as personnel. From January 2009 it entered a new, more ambitious phase where access was provided to the world's largest databank in planetary science. In a subsequent phase, under the project 'European planetology network research infrastructure' (EUROPLANET RI), 27 research institutes and universities joined forces. They brought together data sets from a wide variety of space missions and the output of theoretical models to build a virtual observatory with an unprecedented view of the entire solar system. Extensive efforts were also devoted to raising the profile of European planetary science through national and international media. Underpinned by a network of key contact points in each European country, EUROPLANET RI provided a plethora of information on Europe's involvement in planetary science to policymakers, the industry and the public. During the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC), organised once a year, European scientists had the opportunity to get together with their international peers for a productive exchange of scientific results. The EUROPLANET RI outreach activities also brought researchers' excitement to European citizens. These activities also assisted experienced researchers to engage in dialogue with the public and, more importantly, a younger generation that needs encouragement to pursue a career in science. Successfully advancing research in planetary science will depend to a large extent on attracting Europe's budding scientists to this field. Keywords Planetary science, planetary research, planetology network, virtual observatory, solar system