Category Archives: Space Exploration

Starting with the Space Race of the 20th century, humans have embarked on a journey through time and space with some of the most pioneering and life-changing space missions.

As we stand on the cusp of another age of space exploration with the upcoming Artemis missions and other space observatories set to go online this year, here are 15 space missions that not only set the groundwork for the future, but also ignite our curiosity about the universe we inhabit.

(Credit: NASA/Asif A. Siddiqi

Sputnik 1 was the first successful artificial satellite placed in low-Earth orbit in 1957. While in orbit, Sputnik 1 gathered data on the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere. During its mission, the satellite completed 1400 orbits around Earth.

In 1958, the United States launched its first successful satellite, Explorer 1. It launched on January 31, 1958 and marked the beginning of the U.S. Space Age. The satellite was launched as a response to the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 satellite.

Explorer 1 found evidence of radiation belts around Earth with its cosmic ray detector. Another satellite confirmed the find a few months later.

Eleven years after the launch of the Explorer 1 satellite, the U.S. launched the Apollo 11 mission on July 16, 1969. It was the first crewed mission to land on the Lunar surface.

On July 24, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission successfully landed on the Moon. On that mission, Neil Armstrong became the first person to step on the Moon and said the famous line, "That's one step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was the second to step on the Moon. Michael Collins did not get to step on the Moon but was on the command module as the pilot orbiting the Moon. While there, the astronauts placed an American flag on the surface and collected lunar rocks and core samples that were later returned to Earth.

In 1971, the Soviet Union launched the World's first space station, Salyut, meaning salute in Russian, into space. The space station, which weighed 20 metric tons and had one docking port, was designed to function for only six months.

Salyut 1 and its other six renditions (seven in total) informed engineers for the next-generation module called Mir. Mir served as the space station while the International Space Station was built.

Between 1973 and 1974, NASA operated the first space station for the U.S., Skylab. In it, hundreds of experiments were carried out, including experiments on how humans adapt to zero gravity.

Skylab also housed an observatory and a workshop. Skylab hosted three crewed missions and was occupied with astronauts for 171 days. The space station's main objective was to show that humans could live in space for long periods.

Between 1984 and 1993, the International Space Station (ISS) was designed with international partners like Canada, Japan, and Europe. Russia later joined the partnership in 1993.

After its construction, parts of the ISS were launched into space in 1998. The space station serves as a site of international collaboration and experiments designed to improve life on Earth for everyone who inhabits it, according to NASA.

The ISS has advanced knowledge in biology, material and physical sciences, human physiology, and more. Currently, the ISS is expected to be an outpost and working laboratory until at least 2030.

Discovery in 2010 (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA's space shuttle missions first launched in 1981, with its last mission bringing a close to the program in 2011. In total, the space shuttles flew 135 missions and aided in constructing the ISS.

In its three-decade stint, the fleet consisted of orbiters, Columbia, Challenger, Discover, Atlantis, Endeavour, and Enterprise, which was never flown in space. The orbiters were the first reusable spacecraft that launched into space like a rocket, moved in low-Earth orbit like a spacecraft, and landed back on Earth like an airplane on a runway, according to NASA.

After its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope gave us a new view and understanding of the universe. The telescope captured images from galaxies far away.

Aside from taking mesmerizing images of galaxies and nebulas, the Hubble Space Telescope aided astrophysicists in understanding atmospheric compositions of planets orbiting other stars and finding dark energy.

Hubble Deep Field from 1995 (Credit: NASA, Robert Williams, and the Hubble Deep Field Team (STScI))

The telescope captured all these discoveries using ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths. The Hubble Space Telescope has logged 1.5 million observations, and over 20,000 scientific papers have been published on these discoveries.

One of Hubble's most famous images is the Hubble Deep Field. With this image alone, astrophysicists could peer back in time and look at multiple galaxies in different stages of evolution since the Big Bang 13.5 billion years ago. The photo was taken in 1995 over 10 days in December.

Supernova remnant SNR 1181 as imaged by the Chandra X-ray observatory (Credit: X-ray: (Chandra) NASA/CXC/U. Manitoba/C. Treturik, (XMM-Newton) ESA/C. Treturik; Optical: (Pan-STARRS) NOIRLab/MDM/Dartmouth/R. Fesen; Infrared: (WISE) NASA/JPL/Caltech/; Image Processing: Univ. of Manitoba/Gilles Ferrand and Jayanne English)

The Chandra X-ray Observatory launched in 1999 and has been taking X-ray images of our universe since then. It has captured the glowing structures around galaxies and nebulas.

With Chandra, its X-rays images allow astrophysicists to understand the universe's structure. The X-rays are caused by matter heating to millions of degrees and are found in places with high magnetic fields or extreme gravitational forces.

An artistic illustration of the Parker Solar Probe (Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben)

The Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, was the first spacecraft to fly through the Sun's corona in 2021. Its main mission was to study the solar wind and its evolution.

During its seven-year mission, the probe will orbit 24 times around the Sun and come as close as 4 million miles from the Sun's surface. With this mission, experts may learn more about space weather, the sources of solar particles, and differences between the Sun's corona and its surface.

The Perseverance Rover (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

Since the late 1990s, NASA has sent five rovers to Mars. The fleet of rovers has captured images of the Martian surface and mapped out its features.

The rovers are Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997; Spirit and Opportunity, which landed in 2004; Curiosity, which landed in 2012; and Perseverance, which landed in 2021. Together, these rovers have gathered evidence of water on Mars and looked for signs of life on the Red Planet.

The Carina Nebula taken by the JWST. (Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI)

Launched in December 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was designed as the next space observatory like the Hubble Space Telescope to capture more data on the universe's evolution.

It's capable of seeing further than Hubble and will capture data about how the planets, stars, and the first galaxies formed.

To date, it has already provided clearer images of galaxies, and nebulas with its 18 hexagon-shaped mirrors, and four high-tech imaging instruments. JWST has also observed one of the farthest and youngest galaxies we have ever observed, GN-z11, and supermassive black holes that date to the early universe.

The European Space Agency set off to find planets, explore the universe's secrets, and study dark matter and energy to see why it looks as it does today with the Euclid Spacecraft.

Euclid's image of the galaxy cluster, Abell 2390. (Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi)

Launched on July 1, 2023, the Euclid spacecraft will map out the scale of the universe. New images of the universe were recently released on May 23, 2024.

(Credit: Noir Lab, Hernan Stockebrand)

When the Vera C. Rubin Observatory goes online later this year, it will use the largest digital camera ever built to understand dark matter and energy. The camera measures 5.5 feet and will take images at 3.2 gigapixels.

The giant telescope, with its 8.4-meter primary mirror and digital camera, will map out the Milky Way galaxy and the planets in our Solar System and track objects called 'transients' that move across the sky.

In about 4 nights, the telescope would have imaged the entire night sky. Each image the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will take will have a resolution of 3200 megapixels. In its 10-year survey, the observatory is expected to take 5.5 million images and detect 38 billion objects.

NASA's Artemis program is set on further exploring the Moon and bringing humans back to it. The missions on the Moon will serve as data to further prepare humans for more extended space missions, such as those to Mars. By 2026, NASA plans to launch the first crew, Artemis III, to land on the lunar surface to explore the Moon's South Pole.

Read More: Here Are 4 Reasons Why We Are Still Going to the Moon

Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:

Elizabeth Gamillo is a staff writer for Discover and Astronomy. She has written for Science magazine as their 2018 AAAS Diverse Voices in Science Journalism Intern and was a daily contributor for Smithsonian. She is a graduate student in MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing.

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15 of the Most Life-Changing Spacecraft and Missions That Fueled Our Curiosity - DISCOVER Magazine

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Last month, China's Tiangong space station became home to four zebrafish, who are reportedly thriving in the microgravity environment of their space aquarium. Astronauts on board have observed the fish exhibiting unusual directional behavior, including inverted swimming and rotary movement. A video by China National Space Administration shows zebrafish swimming aimlessly inside a glass cube. "Like astronauts, zebrafish need to pass through rounds of selection to become 'aquastronauts,'" said Wang Gaohong, a hydrobiology researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The observed aquatic anomalies serve a scientific purpose. Researchers aim to study the effects of microgravity on vertebrates like zebrafish by monitoring their behavior, growth, and development. This will be achieved by analyzing water samples and fish eggs during the experiment. The data collected could offer insights into how space and cosmic radiation impact larger vertebrates such as humans, potentially guiding future space exploration efforts.

This isn't the first instance of fish being kept in space. In 1973, NASA sent two mummichog fish and 50 fish eggs to their Skylab space station. These pioneering piscines swam in elongated loops due to their inability to discern up from down in zero gravity. They eventually oriented their backs to the lights inside Skylab as a means of navigation, providing an early glimpse into aquatic behavior in microgravity environments.

Like humans, fish also experience bone density loss in space. This was discovered by Japanese scientists who sent zebrafish and medaka to the International Space Station in 2012. Therefore, further studies on fish behavior in near-weightless environments could significantly enhance our understanding of the impact of space travel on human health. These findings underline the importance of ongoing research into how living organisms adapt to life beyond Earth's atmosphere.

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Zebrafish flourish in China's space station amid unusual behavior - NewsBytes

NASA participated in the second international face-to-face workshop this week among Artemis Accords signatories, which featured space officials from two dozen nations focused on advancing the principles for the safe, peaceful, and responsible exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond. This years workshop was hosted by CSA (Canadian Space Agency) at their headquarters in Montreal May 21-23.

Since the Artemis Accords were created nearly four years ago, 39 countries have joined the United States in a voluntary commitment to engage in transparent and responsible behavior in space. The accords are meant to push humanitys reach farther safely and sustainably into space than ever before and build on more than 23 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station.

The Artemis Accords represent a shared vision for humanitys exploration of space one that transcends borders and fosters unity in our quest to expand our understanding of the cosmos, said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, who participated virtually to jointly kick-off the workshop with CSA President Lisa Campbell. The days of going to space alone are long over. We are in a new age where nations globally go to space to both explore deeper and gain better understanding about our place in the universe.

During workshop, participants from 24 countries engaged in robust discussions and conducted a tabletop exercise centered on further defining and implementing key tenets, including considering views on non-interference, interoperability, and scientific data sharing among nations.

The Artemis Accords are an important part of humanitys future in space and Canada is very much committed to these principles. As we explore beyond Earth, we must do so in ways that are safe and sustainable, for the benefit of humanity and future generations. It was an honour to welcome brilliant minds from around the world to discuss how to conduct present and future space exploration activities safely, sustainably, and transparently through the application of the Artemis Accords, said Campbell.

For example, during the workshop participants delved more deeply into topics such as non-interference and interoperability. These discussions build upon prior work such as an initial set of mission data parameters agreed to by the signatories last October. The data parameters identify necessary information about planned lunar surface missions including expected launch dates, the general nature of activities, and the landing location.

Sharing such information will support safer lunar operations by ensuring signatories respective missions do not inadvertently interfere with each other. Transparency and communication are keys to peaceful exploration, and the Artemis Accords signatories are committed to sharing information about their activities and outcomes through the United Nations of Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) and other appropriate channels.

The commitments undertaken under the Artemis Accords, and the significant efforts by the signatories to advance implementation of these principles, are essential to the success of the Artemis campaign for NASA and its partners, as well as for the success of the safe and sustainable exploration activities of the other Accords signatories.

As the Artemis Accords workshop concluded May 23, participants reaffirmed their commitment to upholding the principles outlined in the Artemis Accords and to continue working collaboratively. The first workshop was hosted by Poland in 2023. Additional countries are expected to sign the Artemis Accords in the weeks and months ahead. Signatory principals will gather again for face-to-face discussions on the margins of the International Astronautical Congress in October.

The United States and seven other nations were the first to sign the Artemis Accords in 2020, which identified an early set of principles that promote the beneficial use of space for all humanity, grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.

For more information about the Artemis Accords, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords/

-end-

Amber Jacobson / Jennifer Dooren Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov / jennifer.m.dooren@nasa.gov

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NASA Engages in Artemis Accords Workshop to Advance Exploration - NASA

The widely discussed private space missions financed by billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are only part of a far larger development in the space industry, where the focus is shifting from government agencies to private companies. In April 2024, the World Economic Forum published a study forecasting that, Lower costs and improved access to space-enabled technologies such as communications; positioning, navigation and timing; and Earth observation services could take the global space economy to US$1.8 trillion by 2035, up from US$630 billion in 2023.

In 2022, the global space economy was worth US$546 billion, of which the commercial sector accounted for around 78percent or US$427.6 billion.Private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, and (soon) Stoke Space are playing an increasingly important role. Hundreds of companies are now active in the space sector, and the competition between rocket manufacturers to find the cheapest solutions for launching satellites has led to dramatic cost reductions.Thanks to private space travel, the cost of a rocket launch is now only a fifth of what it was 15 years ago, says space-travel expert Robert Zubrin.

The growing dominance of private companies in the space industry is remarkable because it contrasts so strikingly with more general global political and economic trends. Over the past 15 years, there has been a noticeable global shift towards state intervention and decreasing reliance on market forces. This trend is particularly evident when you compare the policies of the 1980s and 1990s to current developments. Margaret Thatcher was elected prime minister of the UK in 1979 and Ronald Reagan became president of the US in 1981, and both championed the principles of a free market economy. In the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping began his market-economy reforms in China and introduced private property; in 1986, Vietnam launched its i Mi market-economy reforms; and in Poland, Leszek Balcerowicz implemented a highly successful policy of capitalist shock therapy from 1990. The socialist planned economies in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe collapsed. Liberalisation, privatisation, and tax cuts characterised this era of economic development.

Today, the trend is quite different: The Index of Economic Freedom, an annual report compiled by the Heritage Foundation, reached a 23-year low in 2024. In the former paragons of free-market reform, the US and UK, economic freedom has declined to its lowest levels since the survey began in 1995. In China, the shift towards a market economy initiated by Deng Xiaoping is now reversing toward more government control. Across Latin America, socialist governments dominate, and numerous countries, including Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, and even Chileonce a beacon of capitalismare now governed by socialist leaders. (Argentina has bucked this trend with the rise of Javier Milei.) In Europe, there has also been a noticeable increase in state interventionism, particularly in the name of the fight against climate change.

In the space industry, however, we are seeing the opposite development.During the 1960s, the USs Apollo program marked a significant milestone in space exploration, culminating in the historic moment when two Americans set foot on the moon on 21 July 1969. This achievement was followed by five additional moon landings by the end of 1972, during which a total of 12 Americans walked on the lunar surface. The success of the Apollo program not only showcased the technological prowess of the United States but also underscored the ideological competition between the capitalist United States and the socialist Soviet Union. Of course, the costs were immense: the Apollo moon program cost US$25.4 billion, the equivalent of more than US$200 billion today.

NASA made significant strides in scientific exploration through research flights using unmanned space probes. However, no progress was made in the fields of space transportation and manned space travel. NASA continued to be successful in the field of scientific exploration, Zubrin says. Projects such as the Hubble Space Telescope marked milestones in science. But it failed in the area of manned space flight and lost focus after the moon landing. And it was incredibly slow: it took NASA 35 years to develop the Space Launch System SLS, a heavy-lift rocket, whereas Musk managed it in just a few years.

Why We Should Settle Mars

Space exploration will bring us inventions that benefit humanity. And it will help us avoid war.

According to the German space travel expert Eugen Reichl, NASAs shuttle program was an economic disaster: Every single mission cost a billion dollars, he tells me. Operating the shuttle was so expensive that all attempts to find a more viable successor aircraft failed to materialise for more than three decades. There were no further manned missions to the moon, let alone to Mars. And the cost of a space launch remained static from 1970 to 2010, until Elon Musks SpaceX succeeded in reducing the cost of a rocket launch by 80percent from US$10,000/kilogram to US$2,000/kilogram with a mostly reusable launch vehicle.

On 22 December 2015, the successful launch of the Falcon 9 from Musks SpaceX marked the first time that the first stage of a rocket landed back on Earth after take-off. It was a historic day for space travel and the new technology revolutionised its cost efficiency. Just imagine the expense if every aircraft became unusable after a single flight and had to be replaced. But this was far from the only innovation that made rockets like SpaceXs so much cheaper than ever before.

Before SpaceX, the cumbersome companies that supplied rockets to NASA operated under a different model. They were not incentivised to build rockets as cost-effectively as possible. NASA would order rockets on the basis of so-called cost-plus contracts. The contractors had to document their costs and were then allowed to add a moderate profit of around eight to ten percent to the price. In a market economy, companies always strive to keep costs as low as possible and Musk is famous for his relentless pursuit of innovative cost-cutting measures. He is also awarded government contracts, but at a fixed price, so he is motivated to continuously find ways to cut costs.

According to the logic of cost-plus contracts, the more costs a company generates, the more profitable the contract ends up being to the company. Robert Zubrin remembers: As a result, it is the norm for such contractors to have overhead rates exceeding 300 percent. Indeed, at the Martin Marietta company (later Lockheed Martin), where I was employed from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s (and which was, along with Boeing, one of the two most successful of the eight major aerospace companies of that era), we at one point had more than 13,000 people at our primary facility, with fewer than 1,000 working in the factoryleading one wit to scoff: At Martin Marietta, overhead is our most important product. Reichl confirms that these cost-plus contracts were also standard practice in Europe for decades. The higher the costs, the higher the profit. So, nobody in the industry was interested in lower prices.

Elon Musk is by no means the only major player in the private space industry today, but he is the most important and he is certainly its pioneer. In 2001, after selling PayPal, Musk was sitting with some of the companys alumni in Las Vegas and one of them asked him what he was planning to do next. Im going to colonise Mars, he declared. My mission in life is to make mankind a multi-planetary civilisation. His colleagues reaction? Dude, youre bananas.

But where to start? During his Google research, Musk came across an announcement for a dinner being hosted by an organisation called the Mars Society in the spring of 2001. Admission was US$500, but Musk ended up sending a check for US$5,000, which caught the attention of Robert Zubrin, the societys founder and president. Zubrin met Musk and invited him to spend a day at his company near Denver. Musk then donated a further US$100,000 dollars to the Mars Society to finance the Mars Desert Research Station project. For a time, Musk was also on the Mars Societys board of directors.

I met Robert Zubrin in May 2024 in Frankfurt and asked him what he thought were the factors that enabled Musk and his company SpaceX to achieve such extraordinary results: Musk is driven. But its not money that drives him, he has enough of that. He wants to go down in history. The most important factor was Musks refusal to adhere to absurd cost-plus programs. And he was good at implementing existing ideas that had previously been rejected. For instance, the idea of designing only the lower stage of a rocket for reusability was initially proposed by Boeing but dismissed by NASA. Musk built the Falcon Heavy rocket in just six years. It has half the payload capacity of the Saturn 5, but is largely reusable, unlike the Saturn and other predecessors, which could only be used once. Musks Starship, a fully reusable, completely revolutionary vehicle, has been in development for eight years.

Perhaps the most prominent champions of private space travel are Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, and Richard Branson, the British billionaire behind Virgin Galactic. And although the media often focuses on the concept of space tourism, which involves offering the wealthy trips to space, Bezos and Musk have both set their sights on loftier goals. But their motives are different. Bezos, in particular, envisions a future in which a significant proportion of industrial production takes place in space as a means of addressing environmental challenges on Earth. Back in 2016, the Amazon founder said: Over the next few hundred years all of our heavy industry will be moved off-planet and Earth will be zoned residential and light industrial. And that just makes a lot of sense! You shouldnt be doing heavy industry on Earth. Resources are more plentiful in space. ... We can build gigantic chip factories in space, and then just send the little bits down. We dont actually need to build them here.

Musk, on the other hand, wants to settle millions of people on Mars, in part because he is convinced that humanity has no other chance of survival in the long run. Asteroids from space keep hitting planet Earthone such collision led to the extinction of the dinosaurs and almost all life here. Of course, this could also happen on Mars, but if it happens on Earth and people are living on Mars by then, then the survival of humanity would be assured.

For decades, America has been keen to send humans to Mars, yet government-funded space programs have made little progress towards achieving this goal. While there have been plenty of successful unmanned missions to Mars that have greatly expanded our understanding of the planet, the objective of a manned landing on Mars has not been actively pursued, even after US President George H.W. Bush announced his Space Exploration Initiative on 20 July 1989:

Three months after President Bushs speech, NASA published a study titled Report of the 90-Day Study on Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars. The costs were so high that the authors of the 90-Day report did not even dare to include an estimate. However, a figure eventually leaked to the press: US$450billion (equivalent to around US$1.1 trillion today).

What We Can Create on Mars

Mars contains all the materials needed to support not only life but technological civilization.

Robert Zubrin immediately realised that the proposed plan was completely unrealistic, far too complicated, and exorbitantly expensive. Zubrin, who worked at Martin Marietta at the time, developed a detailed plan, which included a number of innovations designed to reduce costs, such as eliminating the need for a space station or moon base. People within NASA linked to the Space Station program viewed Zubrins proposal as a direct threat, especially as he argued that a space station was unnecessary as an intermediate link to fly to Mars. Zubrin revised his original plan. The modified plan came with a price tag of approximately US$50 billion, about twice as expensive as his original Mars Direct proposal, which would have cost about US$2030 billion. Despite the higher figure, the amended plan would still cost just one-eighth of NASAs original plan.

In 1996, Zubrin published a widely acclaimed book, The Case for Mars, in which he described in detail how a Mars mission and subsequent colonisation of the red planet could be achieved. Of course, there are challenges associated with travelling to and inhabiting Mars, such as radiation and weightlessness, but he proposed innovative solutions to address these obstacles.

The objective, he suggested, should not merely involve replicating the moon landing by making a brief visit to Mars, planting a flag, and spending the next few decades basking in the pride of that achievement. That would be a total waste of time, money, and effort. The true aim, Zubrin argued, should be the colonisation of Mars. He suggested that while the first Mars missions would probably be state-funded, the long-term goal of establishing a colony on the planet could only be achieved with private-sector innovation and investment. The Mars colony, he explained, could exploit numerous unique advantages. It would be much easier and more cost-effective to access the resource-rich asteroids from Mars. He also believes that the challenging living conditions on Mars and the constant need to find new solutions to problems would lead to an innovative boost, which would ultimately also benefit the economy on Earth.

These are of course visions of the future that might only become reality a few decades from now, much like the economic exploitation of asteroids. Today, the primary source of revenue in space technology comes from satellites, which have been playing a key role in various aspects of our daily lives for yearsfrom GPS navigation to weather observation and telecommunications.The privatisation of space travel is constantly cutting the cost of rocket launches, which has cut the cost of launching satellites into orbit. This has also resulted in the transformation of the aerospace industry, which was once dominated by a few large corporations but is now experiencing a surge in start-ups entering the market, creating a vibrant new space start-up scene.

Space travel has been moving towards a more market-oriented approach for years. In January 1984, Ronald Reagan gave a visionary speech predicting a great future for private space travel:

We expect space-related investments to grow quickly in future years, creating many new jobs and greater prosperity for all Americans. Companies interested in putting payloads into space, for example, should have ready access to private sector launch services. So, were going to bring into play Americas greatest assetthe vitality of our free enterprise system.

Several months later, President Reagan signed the Commercial Space Launch Act, an ambitious piece of legislation that paved the way for private companies to commercialise space travel and space technology. Despite this significant milestone, it would take many years before Reagans vision would come to fruition. Following the historic moon landing, progress in American space exploration began to stagnate. It became clear that the state was too sluggish to tackle the next frontier of space exploration.

However, a few forward-thinking individuals like Peter Marquez, the former Director of Space Policy for the National Security Council, played a crucial role in shaping the future of space policy. He advised both the Bush and Obama administrations: When I was writing the National Space Policy, Marquez explained, I kept a copy of Reagans first space policy on my desk. It emphasised what commercial industry could do. Since then, we had gone away from all these things that were supposedly hard and fast rules of the American ethos: trust industry, trust capitalism, trust technology. In 2010, I didnt think I was doing anything revolutionary. I was just going back in time to the 1980s.

Perhaps that would not be such a bad idea for economic policy as a whole. More market, more economic freedom, and more capitalism yield better results than a policy dominated by the governmenta principle that extends beyond just space travel.It is interesting to note that Barack Obama, of all people, promoted private space travel. In 2016, the Washington Post reported: Obama brought capitalism to outer space. However, according to Zubrin, this was entirely unintentional. Obama wasnt interested in space travel at all, he wanted to spend the money on social programs. When it was suggested to him that private companies should do what the government used to do, he replied: Good idea. And thats how Obama ended up promoting private space travel. Sometimes, clearly, the best outcomes are achieved when politicians have absolutely no interest in an issue.

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The Future of the Space Industry - Quillette

NASA has invested in an innovative superalloy as part of its Technology Transfer Program, a program that allows technology built for missions to be utilized for other commercial purposes.

The superalloy is known as GRX-810 and consists of a 3D-printable, high-temperature material that has the potential to make airplane equipment and spacecraft parts more heavy duty. Items built with this material will be able to withstand a wide range of severe conditions, including intense temperatures, both in the air and in space. As of now, the superalloy is licensed to four American companies; going forward, it could result in positive commercial dividends, NASA says, and benefit the overall U.S. economy.

The four companies selected are Carpenter Technology Corporation of Reading, Pennsylvania, Elementum 3D, Inc. of Erie, Colorado, Linde Advanced Material Technologies, Inc. of Indianapolis, and Powder Alloy Corporation of Loveland, Ohio.

Related: 10 everyday NASA inventions and spin-offs you can find in your home

Through each co-exclusive license agreement, the companies will be able to create and sell GRX-810 to airplane and rocket equipment manufacturers, as well as other companies part of aviation or spaceflight supply chains. "NASA invests tax dollars into research that demonstrates direct benefit to the U.S. and transfers its technologies to industry by licensing its patents," Amy Hiltabidel, a licensing manager at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, OH, said in a statement.

GRX-810 was originally developed with aerospace equipment in mind, including liquid rocket engine injectors, combustors, turbines and hot-section components capable of enduring temperatures over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,093 degrees Celsius), according to a NASA release. The brains behind the superalloy are Tim Smith and Christopher Kantzos, both researchers at NASA Glenn. They say the design was drafted up by pairing computer modeling with a laser 3D-printing process to meld together, layer-by-layer, the metals involved.

"GRX-810 represents a new alloy design space and manufacturing technique that was impossible a few years ago," Smith said in the same statement.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

This nickel-based alloy can handle more than most; it can withstand extreme heat, stress, and has double the amount of resistance from oxidation damage.

"Adoption of this alloy will lead to more sustainable aviation and space exploration," Dale Hopkins, deputy project manager of NASA's Transformational Tools and Technologies project, said in the statement. "This is because jet engine and rocket components made from GRX-810 will lower operating costs by lasting longer and improving overall fuel efficiency."

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US economy to benefit from NASA investment in 3D-printable superalloy - Space.com

WASHINGTON The European Space Agency has selected one of the continents largest space companies and one of its best-funded startups for study contracts that could lead to commercial cargo and crew vehicles.

ESA announced May 22 that it awarded contracts worth about 25 million euros ($27 million) each to Thales Alenia Space and The Exploration Company. The two companies will advance their concepts for vehicles designed to transport cargo to and from the International Space Station and commercial space stations.

Today ESA has further proven its leadership in space for Europe and European citizens. The signature of the low Earth orbit cargo return service contracts shows how ESA has modernized to meet the demands of the next era of the space economy, Josef Aschabcher, director general of ESA, said in a statement.

ESA announced plans for the cargo vehicle program at the European Space Summit in Seville, Spain, last November. The program, modeled on NASAs Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) effort from nearly two decades ago, will provide support for commercially developed vehicles that could offer cargo transportation services and could later be evolved into crewed spacecraft.

The contracts to Thales Alenia Space and The Exploration Company cover initial design work on their vehicles. ESA will seek funding for later phases at its next ministerial meeting in late 2025, with the goal of having at least one vehicle ready to enter service by 2028.

Thales Alenia Space, one of Europes largest space companies, is offering a capsule that is says will be compatible with the ISS and commercial space stations as well as the lunar Gateway. Thales facilities in Italy and France will be involved in the project along with Altec, a joint venture of Thales Alenia Space Italia and the Italian Space Agency ASI, for the ground segment.

Leveraging on its expertise in space exploration infrastructure and vehicles, the company, fully in line with the European Space Agencys vision, wishes to invest in the development of technological solutions to give Europe a sustainable access to low Earth orbit, said Massimo Comparini, deputy CEO and senior executive vice president of Thales Alenia Space, in a statement.

The Exploration Company is a startup working on spacecraft designed to transport cargo to and from Earth orbit and in cislunar space. Its first demonstration mission is slated to fly on the inaugural Ariane 6 launch now scheduled for the first half of June. The company raised $44 million in a Series A round in early 2023, one of the largest early-stage rounds for a European space startup.

We want to fly to the space station in 27, so weve already started work on the final spacecraft, Hlne Huby, chief executive of The Exploration Company, said in an interview during the 39th Space Symposium last month. That vehicle, she said, would be ready for a preliminary design review this summer.

While bidding on ESAs program, Huby said she was working to win business from American companies working on commercial space stations. The company announced earlier this month that it had opened a U.S. office led by Mark Kirasich, a former NASA official whose roles at the agency included being Orion program manager.

If everything goes well, she said then, we will have an American client and a European client.

ESA did not immediately disclose how many companies submitted proposals, or why the agency selected two when it previously stated it could select as many as three. ESA officials previously said they had seen strong interest in the program based on participation in procurement meetings.

Among the companies that had expressed an interest in the competition was ArianeGroup, which has proposed a reusable vehicle called SUSIE, and Rocket Factory Augsburg, which announced earlier this year a cargo vehicle named Argo it proposed in cooperation with Space Cargo Unlimited and ATMOS Space Cargo.

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ESA selects Thales Alenia Space and The Exploration Company for commercial cargo program - SpaceNews

Jennifer Scott Williams embodies leadership, innovation, and excitement for life. Her career has been a testament to her unwavering passion and versatility, navigating through various roles and significantly contributing to the agencys milestones and evolution. In her 23 years at NASA, she has combined engineering, business, science communications, and leadership all into one.

Currently in the Center Directors Office, Williams serves as NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyches assistant for technical integration, supporting meetings such as readiness reviews for the International Space Station and Commercial Crew Programs. Her role also involves coordinating skip-level meetings forDare | Unite | Exploreand overseeing senior staff meetings to ensure that leadership remains informed about the activities happening across the center.

She also plays a role in the International Space Station Programs Research Integration Office, ensuring crews aboard the space station have the tools they need to complete their research.

Like many of our laboratories where astronauts conduct their research, understanding the engineering components of the facilities we use on board is crucial, said Williams. Understanding the science is also critical, she added. It adds meaning to our work when we help execute the science onboard and communicate the creative insights and results from the experiments conducted. Being a good communicator is extremely important and creativity makes that message real and mean something to the public.

Her journey also included groundbreaking work on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, where she served as the instrumentation and communications officer on the Boeing Mission Operations Team. Her efforts established operational foundations that will shape its future space missions. Williams was instrumental in developing the vehicle communications systems, understanding its operations, creating simulations, coding, and comprehending the computer systems, addressing all the fundamental aspects necessary for the spacecraft.

Beyond her technical contributions, Williams is deeply committed to inspiring the next generation of explorers. She also managed the Minority University Research and Education Project, encouraging students of color to engage in STEM fields.

She led a team that collaborated with students, teachers, and educational institutions through the Pre-Service Teacher Program. Williams said that working in the Office of STEM Engagement was a new experience that became life-changing for her. I really rediscovered a passion that I have for students and education, she said. I love being able to help interns navigate the NASA environment and help people of color be able to apply for NASA jobs. It takes all perspectives to accomplish our mission.

Williams earned dual bachelors degrees in mathematics and electrical engineering from Spelman College and the Georgia Institute of Technology. She later received a masters degree in electrical engineering from the University of Houston. She belongs to the Spelman College National Alumni Association and holds a lifetime membership in the National Society of Black Engineers.

Williams is an advocate for youth interested in pursuing STEM careers. Her advice is, Come on and do it. We are out here, she added I love that we are embracing our differences instead of shunning differences because having people with different backgrounds, personalities, insights, and perspectives is whats going to help us get back to the Moon.

For the Artemis Generation, we need creative minds, she said. We need artists, scientists, engineers, technologists, physicians, attorneys, and financial connoisseurs. This next generation is going to have to be open-minded thought seekers. They need to be willing to do things that we have never done before and take the risks so that we can put boots on the Moon and Mars.

Williams also plays an integral role in Dare | Unite | Explore initiatives. She works with senior leadership to make sure the workforce has professional mobility and is able to get the training and resources for new opportunities. We want to encourage employees to try new things, to learn, and to grow in different organizations, she said. Dare | Unite | Explore ensures that the Johnson workforce is fully supported in our efforts as we grow and develop and that our facilities and processes can support us and are in alignment with our future initiatives.

I never really thought I would work at NASA, but when I came here to interview, they put me in the shuttle simulator and I was hooked, she said. I encourage my children to pursue careers in STEM because it has been so beneficial to me throughout my life. The people that I have come across in my time here have been phenomenal. It makes me want to keep coming to work.

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Jennifer Scott Williams: Leading the Next Giant Leap in Space Exploration and Championing STEM Advocacy - NASA

As a member of the Mars Architecture Team, Clare Luckey is one of the people at the forefront of designing the first crewed mission to the Red Planet. Her current work involves helping to develop the vision for the initial segment of Mars exploration missions. She also has been named one of Forbes 30 under 30 Class of 2024 in the Science category. Her commitment extends beyond the cosmos as she is deeply involved in community outreach, inspiring students to aim for the stars in space careers and encouraging diversity in STEM.

Starting her journey as an intern at NASAs Johnson Space Center Operations in fall 2018, Luckeys career trajectory has been nothing short of meteoric. She began her career as a contractor at Barrios Technology, focusing on cargo integration for the International Space Station Program, then transitioned to a civil servant position in Center Operations by late 2020. Currently serving in the Exploration Mission Planning Office, Luckeys role is critical not just in Mars exploration but also in the Artemis missions, where she contributes to Lunar Mission Planning in the Mission Analysis and Integrated Assessments team.

Luckeys innovative thinking is especially crucial as she navigates the complexities of planning travel to Mars. Her ability to compare and adapt strategies from near-term missions like Artemis to the long-term objectives of Mars colonization highlights her unique insight and adaptability. Mars missions are more open to change because they are far in the future, said Luckey. We are still in the process of figuring out not only how to make decisions, but what decisions to make.

Her influence extends far beyond engineering. Luckeys engagement with global space leaders at the Space Symposium and her contributions as a panelist at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Science and Technology Forum exemplify her as a thought leader in aerospace. She also participated in the Space Generation Advisory Council, a board that advises the United Nations on next-generation space exploration concepts. All of these opportunities have given me different insights into the larger space industry and space economy, she said.

Reflecting on her journey, Luckey attributes her passion for space exploration to a middle school project, Future Cities, where she and her friends designed a futuristic Mars city. The project ignited her imagination and inspired her to think critically and creatively about the future. Its important to build the foundations of mathematics and science at a young age, she said. I am really passionate about getting other people who look like me involved in the space industry.

Luckeys involvement with the National Society of Black Engineers and her efforts to mentor and help students with school projects gives her great joy. NASA can invest in the next generation by building a sustainable pipeline alongside sustainable space architecture, she said. You have to invest in communities and education so that kids grow up participating in a culmination of activities that make them want to be a part of NASA. She believes that persistence, passion, and creativity are the top qualities for someone to excel in the space exploration industry.

As a vocal advocate for diversity in the space industry, Luckey emphasizes the importance of community and mentorship within NASA and beyond. I try to reach out to people and build that community because it is important, she said. Thats one of the things that keeps people coming to work no matter where you work. Its not the work, its the people that keep you coming back. I work with a lot of great people that have built that NASA community.

Luckeys advice to aspiring space explorers is, Just try. Even when you dont think youre capable or dont think you know enough, you will learn as you go. She also encourages students to search out opportunities and get involved at a young age. Theres no wrong answer. Just do what youre interested in, put effort into it, and youll end up where you want to go, she said.

Her favorite part about working at NASA is the outlandishness of it all, she said. People at NASA are really trying to build the future. The work we do here is amazing and not to be overlooked. She is looking forward to the Artemis missions because this time is a completely new paradigm. With Artemis, were going to the Moon to stay and to build sustainable architecture, said Luckey. Were going to push forward. I am really excited to see how it turns out, and the international collaboration will be amazing for us.

Her enthusiasm for the Artemis campaign and the future of international space collaboration shines through her work, envisioning a new era of lunar exploration and beyond. I am grateful to be here, she said. The most important thing to me is to be humble and personable. I want to be someone that is approachable, helpful, and easy to learn from so that I can be a mentor to the next generation of students, in the same way that I had mentors.

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Clare Luckey: Shaping the Future of Mars Missions and Inspiring the Artemis Generation - NASA

Credit: ISRO

Ibadan, 27 May 2024. US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti has disclosed that the US will launch an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) by the end of 2024. The Ambassador also explained that the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) project, a joint mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will likely launch by the end of the year.

The Ambassador made these statements during his visit to Bengaluru to meet with space sector business leaders and entrepreneurs to spotlight robust economic and commercial relations between the United States and India. During the visit, Garcetti visited ISROs headquarters and met with Chairman S Somanath to discuss the ongoing cooperation between India and the U.S. in space. Garcetti also proposed a joint development of a QUAD satellite by both countries.

The Ambassador said, I am happy to be here today in Bengaluru to participate in the U.S.-India Commercial Space Cooperation Conference. It is an honor to share the stage with ISRO Chairman Dr Somanath as we unlock commercial opportunities to propel our partnership to the stars and beyond. Todays program is just one of the many ways the United States and India are moving forward to expand space cooperation into the stratosphere.

Likewise, ISROs chairman noted the opportunity to develop advanced detectors and packaging technologies with US-India academic institutions. He emphasized building and standardizing docking interfaces across human space programs to enable the utilization of space platforms by other countries and joining hands to build a navigation system on the moon, either in orbit or on the surface.

Ambassador Garcettis inaugural visit to Bengaluru underscored the shared commitment of the U.S. and India to leverage technology and innovation for societal progress, laying the foundation for enhanced collaboration and strategic partnerships in commercial space exploration.

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ISRO and US Discuss Future Space Collaboration Projects - SpaceWatch.Global

The stars of Star Trek are about to get a taste of real-life space exploration when they beam into the 2024 International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles this weekend, and you have a chance join them to get your space fix.

On Friday (May 24), actor William Shatner, who originated the role of Captain James T. Kirk and launched into space on a Blue Origin rocket in 2021, will receive the Robert Heinlein Memorial Award "for his deep impact on public perception of the human expansion into space, which boldly highlighted diversity and inclusion previously unseen on television," conference officials said in a statement. The award, which is given annually by the nonprofit National Space Society at ISDC, is just one event featuring Star Trek actors. If you're in the Los Angeles area, you can learn how to attend the ISDC conference at the at isdc.nss.org.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" actor Melissa Navia, who portrays helm pilot Lt. Erica Ortegas, will host the 2024 ISDC conference. NSS officials have also recruited her fellow Trek alums in a May 26 panel "Science Fiction to Science Fact" featuring Nana Visitor (Major Kira Nerys on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"), John Billingsley (Doctor Flox on "Star Trek: Enterprise") and other Trek and sci-fi veterans to discuss "how science fiction has, and will continue to, transition into our everyday lives, and ultimately, the exploration of space."

But real science fact is the main draw for ISDC, which is expected to draw over 1,000 attendees to its talks at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel near Los Angeles International Airport.

"ISDC 2024 talks will cover the exploration, development, and settlement of the Moon, Mars, and cislunar space; deep space exploration; innovative spaceflight technology; the commercialization of space and space infrastructure; life support systems; collaboration in space; living in space; space solar power; space debris mediation solutions; planetary defense; space law; and both national and international space policy, among others," organizers wrote in an overview.

This year, the conference's theme of "No Limits" has drawn in retired astronauts Susan Kilrain and Jose Hernandez, as well as Alan Stern (who leads the New Horizon mission to Pluto and beyond, as well as Vast Space CEO Max Haot, Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin and YouTube creators Isaac Arthur and Brian McManus.

The ISDC is the only major space conference that is intended for everyone, from space professionals to students to the lay public. It is the largest and longest running space conference anywhere, Aggie Kobrin, NSS Event Manager, said in a separate statement. "We're thrilled to be holding the conference in Los Angles this year. It's wonderful and to have these amazing speakers appearing before an audience ranging from seasoned NASA professionals to hundreds of young people, all of whom are deeply interested in space."

You can learn more about the 2024 International Space Development Conference, which runs from May 24 to May 26, at the websiteisdc.nss.org where you can also find a full list of speakers and conference schedule.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

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International Space Development Conference 2024 beams up Star Trek's William Shatner and more in Los Angeles - Space.com