Why NASA Needs a Better Plan
Scott Pace says Obama’s mission for the agency is risky and unclear.Last week, the Obama administration proposed a new budget for the U.S. space program that would cancel NASA’s efforts to develop new...
View ArticleSimulating Life on Mars
Six people will lock themselves in a Russian-built Mars simulator for 520 days.
View ArticleObama Charts New Course for NASA
The president wants humans to explore the solar system by 2025–but his plan faces hurdles in the Senate.In February, with remarkably little fanfare, NASA released a budget proposal that eliminated...
View ArticleHumanoid Robots on the Moon in 1,000 Days?
A curious NASA mission, known as Project M, could send a robot to the moon, soon.
View ArticlePrivate Spacecrafts to Carry Humans Get NASA Funding
NASA awards $269 million to the commercial industry to carry its astronauts to orbit.
View ArticleThe Imperative to Explore
Following our first “small step for man” with the Apollo 11 landing on the moon on July 20, 1969, there was an expectation that mankind was embarking on our ultimate journey—the expansion of humanity...
View ArticleWhy We Can't Solve Big Problems
Has technology failed us?On July 21, 1969, Buzz Aldrin climbed gingerly out of Eagle, Apollo 11’s lunar module, and joined Neil Armstrong on the Sea of Tranquility. Looking up, he said, “Beautiful,...
View ArticleThe Deferred Dreams of Mars
Officially, the United States plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet in the 2030s. It’s not looking likely. But at NASA, engineers like Bret Drake keep plugging away.In August, NASA used a series...
View ArticleMars Rover Finds Puzzling Organic Traces in First Soil Sample
Curiosity sees tantalizing hints of compounds needed for life, but further analysis is needed to make sure it’s not contamination from Earth.NASA announced yesterday that the Curiosity Mars rover has...
View ArticleTwo Tickets to the Moon: Yours for Just $1.5 Billion
Several ex-NASA officials are behind a company that plans to offer trips by 2020.In 1961, President Kennedy said mankind would go to the moon. Eight years later we did. Would you believe a company that...
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