The 2020 Humans to Mars Summit

Are missions to the Moon by 2024 and Mars by 2033 achievable?
How will the 2020 Mars Rover advance the goal of getting humans to Mars?
If we find life on Mars, what next?

These are just a few of the questions that will be explor…

Op-ed | H.R. 5666 will launch the U.S. in the wrong direction

In his Feb. 3 SpaceNews opinion piece,  Louis Friedman argues that the NASA authorization bill that recently cleared a House space subcommittee is best  direction for America in space. The bill, H.R. 5666, would require the United States to abandon the moon after a flags and footprints lunar landing (while effectively preventing commercial firms from participating). We could not disagree more.

Op-Ed | The United States won’t go back to the moon, I’ll follow China there instead

In a recent SpaceNews Op-ed, Louis Friedman, co-founder and executive director emeritus of The Planetary Society, argues that the U.S. should pursue “a policy more directed to Mars and away from commercial participation. With all due respect to Friedman, I totally disagree. Focusing NASA programs on distant (in space, time, and money) goals can only ensure that U.S. space policy remains empty talk with no action.

Foust Forward | The perils of prediction in spaceflight

The end of the year, and especially the end of a decade, prompts reflections on what’s taken place over the last 12 or 120 months. But it’s also an opportunity to look ahead and try to predict what will happen in the year or decade to come.

Op-ed | Envisioning the next 50 years in space

New technologies, decreasing costs, foreign interests and the emergence of the private sector have heralded the forthcoming of the second space race and with it a hopeful future on the horizon.

Op-ed | Living off the land: Lunar water is key to crewed space exploration

The moon has formed the isolated backdrop for a new era of space exploration. As you read this, there are teams of exploration advocates around the world striving to reach its surface. This new age is one that is being led not by spacefaring superpowers seeking to fly flags and footprints but instead by numerous private companies.

Arianespace targets 2023 for lunar Ariane 6 rideshare mission

Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël said the Ariane 6 rideshare mission will be able to deliver 8,500 kilograms into a lunar transfer orbit.

Foust Forward | Space nuclear power tries to get some satisfaction

The argument that supporters of space nuclear power make is that the technology is essential for NASA’s long-term exploration effort. Advocates have tried to make that case for decades, but only now seem to be gaining traction.

China, Russia to cooperate on lunar orbiter, landing missions

Countries to consider science payload contributions to respective Luna-26 and Chang’e-7 spacecraft and establish a joint data center for lunar and deep space exploration.

India set for moon landing attempt after Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft separation

India will attempt to become the fourth country to soft land on the Moon Friday after successful separation of the Chandrayaan-2 lander and orbiter early Monday.

Op-ed | NASA must shift its focus to infrastructure and capabilities that support dynamic missions

Five decades after Apollo, NASA — burdened with an old-school management culture — originally offered a linear, programmatic solution to its most recent White House mandate to return Americans sustainably to the moon. That was a mistake, but it need not be a fatal one.

Chandrayaan-2: India’s lunar maneuvers continue

India’s second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, is scheduled to enter lunar orbit Aug. 20 following a relatively circuitous journey to the moon.

How NASA’s return to the moon will be different from its first journeys there

NASA’s renewed effort to return humans to the moon draws inescapable parallels to Apollo a half-century ago.

Foust Forward | How much does the public care about returning to the moon?

As in Apollo, that public support may not be critical to winning sustained funding for Artemis, although the political and geopolitical conditions today are very different from those in the 1960s.

Op-ed | What it took to land on the moon

George Abbey, the long-time director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, reflects on America’s race to the moon and understand what it took to place the U.S. flag on the Sea of Tranquility.

Op-ed | Reflections on the U.S. space program a half-century after Apollo 11

Indeed, we were witnessing “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Nevertheless, my maternal grandmother who lived with us and was born in Eastern Europe in 1890, exclaimed, “I don’t believe it and will never believe it.”