Tag: Moon

SpaceX Shoots For The Moon

SpaceX Shoots For The Moon

When Donald J. Trump won the U.S. Presidency, it was a pretty fair bet that America’s space program would soon be setting its sights on the Moon once again. What few saw coming however, was the bombshell that SpaceX dropped on Monday, as the company announced that it is in the advanced stages of mounting […]

Posted in: Space Tourism, SpaceX
Waiting On the Worlds To Change

Waiting On the Worlds To Change

The inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States is a remarkable event in more ways than one, but for the American space program, it could prove to be hinge-pin in history. At this point, there is no way to know what policy directions the Trump White House may provide […]

Posted in: NASA
Counting the Costs of International Space Projects

Counting the Costs of International Space Projects

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. As U.S. space pundits await signals over what direction NASA’s policy will take under the Trump Administration, this photo of the European Space Agency’s general meeting should serve as reminder of some of the downsides of increased international participation in large space projects. Exercising leadership and […]

Posted in: NASA, Trump
With Trump Victory, Is The Moon Rising In A Big Way?

With Trump Victory, Is The Moon Rising In A Big Way?

Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the U.S. presidential election has raised a number of interesting questions regarding what substantive changes, if any, may be coming in the way of American space policy. Whereas Hillary Clinton’s transition team was reportedly prepared to show up at NASA headquarters when the doors opened the morning after her victory, […]

Posted in: NASA, SLS / Orion
Was Discovery of Lunar Ice a Missed ‘Sputnik Moment’ ?

Was Discovery of Lunar Ice a Missed ‘Sputnik Moment’ ?

Did the United States foolishly overlook what should have been an obvious call to action when DOD’s (not NASA’s) Clementine mission discovered water ice at the lunar poles?  And is there still time to do something about it? Spacepolicyonline’s Marcia Smith has a writeup on comments made by U.S. Representative Jim Bridenstine at a meeting […]

Posted in: Congress, Mars, Moon
Candidate Op/Eds on Space, Do They Really Matter Anymore?

Candidate Op/Eds on Space, Do They Really Matter Anymore?

At this point, the space policy positions being taken by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are probably a great deal more relevant for the long term future of human space exploration than those offered by the U.S. presidential candidates, but for what it is worth, both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have op/eds in Space […]

Posted in: NASA
Russia Still Wants to Send Tourists Around the Moon

Russia Still Wants to Send Tourists Around the Moon

A long touted lunar circumnavigation for space tourists is back in the news with reports from Russia that RSC Energia now has 8 possible candidates for the mission, which would take place aboard a specially modified Soyuz. The story from Sputniknews, actually quotes an interview from another paper Izvestia, which somewhat paradoxically (or not) made […]

With Historic Approval, Moon Express is “Go” for the Moon

With Historic Approval, Moon Express is “Go” for the Moon

Yesterday, Google Lunar X Prize competitor Moon Express announced that it has received approval for what will be the first purely commercial mission to go beyond Earth’s immediate orbit. If all goes according to plan, and that is a pretty big if considering the variables involved, ME’s MX-1 lander will launch out of New Zealand […]

Posted in: Moon
Io’s Where to Go When the Volcano Blows

Io’s Where to Go When the Volcano Blows

While NASA’s Juno spacecraft is just getting settled in for its stay in orbit around the solar system’s largest planet, a new study based on information from ground based instruments sheds light on how Jupiter’s gravity and shadow affect one of its moons. Perhaps one of the most tortured bodies in the solar system, Io’s […]

Posted in: Outer Planets
The Choices We Make: Thiel, the Moon and Mars

The Choices We Make: Thiel, the Moon and Mars

What a week in space. It began of course, with SpaceX launching a Dragon spacecraft to ISS for the 9th time, and landing a Falcon 9 first stage at Cape Canaveral for only the second time. It also featured a speech and curious non-endorsement by former astronaut and first female Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins at […]

Posted in: Mars, Moon, NASA, SpaceX, Uncategorized
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