Category Archives: planetary exploration

The Space Program – A Modest Proposal

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Paul Spudis

A recent article on the status of the proposed Asteroid Retrieval Mission (ARM, or as I call it, the “Haul Asteroids!” mission) envisions a forthcoming partisan fight. The Verge article claims that the ARM, “strongly supported” by NASA, is opposed … Continue reading →

Posted in planetary exploration, space policy, space technology, Space transportation | 33 Comments

On the Habitability of the Moon and Mars

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Paul Spudis

After reading the comments to a question recently posed at Reddit, I’m once again struck by how quickly a serious discussion about space can fly off the rails without knowledge of basic facts and their implications. The question that was … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, planetary exploration, space policy, space technology, Space transportation | 53 Comments

The Flight of Orion

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Paul Spudis

New post up at “Once and Future Moon” on the Orion spacecraft, its upcoming test flight this week, and some observations on the program in general.  Comment here if you are so inclined.

Posted in Lunar exploration, Lunar Science, planetary exploration, space policy, space technology, Space transportation, Uncategorized | 11 Comments

The Fog of Space Policy

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Paul Spudis

NASA recently announced its “down-select” of the two space contractors who will receive additional federal money to further develop a space vehicle to transport human crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Perhaps not too surprisingly, they chose … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, planetary exploration, space policy, space technology, Space transportation | 18 Comments

Moon First – Mine the Asteroids Later

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Paul Spudis

I have a new post up at Air & Space on mining asteroids for water and platinum.  This piece extends some of the arguments I have made previously in my three-part series on lunar versus asteroid missions: Destination: Moon or … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, planetary exploration, space industry, space policy, space technology | 21 Comments

Buzz Moons Lunar Return

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Paul Spudis

On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin has laid out his case for the immediate adoption of a new national goal in space – a human mission to Mars. … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, Lunar exploration, planetary exploration, space policy, space technology | 41 Comments

Ten Easy Pieces

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Paul Spudis

This weekend (July 20, 2014) is the anniversary of the first lunar landing, the Apollo 11 mission. No doubt much ink will be spilt on “perspective” pieces, noting the glory days of Apollo and contrasting them (no doubt unfavorably) with … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, Lunar exploration, Lunar Science, planetary exploration, space policy, space technology, Space transportation | 29 Comments

Why We’re Not Going To Mars

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Paul Spudis

In our never ending debate over the direction of U.S. space policy, you’ve no doubt heard the claim that for a human mission to Mars, we have more technology available to us than President Kennedy had available to him when … Continue reading →

Posted in planetary exploration, space industry, space policy, space technology | 33 Comments

The NRC Report – A Missed Opportunity

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Paul Spudis

The recent report from the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Human Space Exploration has drawn a good deal of commentary from the space press. I’ve looked over the report and have my own thoughts, some quite orthogonal to most … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, planetary exploration, space policy, Space transportation | 45 Comments

International Repercussions [Part 2] The Power Vacuum

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Paul Spudis

In my last post, I explored issues related to American abrogation of responsibility in the arena of international space cooperation, primarily as they pertain to the removal of the Moon from the “critical path” in the Global Exploration Roadmap and … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, Lunar exploration, planetary exploration, space policy, space technology, Space transportation | 55 Comments