NASA Archives | Filling Space

Why does space tourism matter?

Space tourism is a perennial hope. Someday, more humans than just trained astronauts will hopefully be able to look down on Earth from above. Plans…

Frontier Society

What relevance does sociology have for humanity’s engagement with space?

Editor December 18, 2020 academia experiments institutions NASA research Science social processes social science sociology the International Space Station

Humanity’s engagement with space is often framed as an area dominated by the so-called STEM disciplines: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Social sciences play a…

Society

How do astronauts behave on the International Space Station?

Editor October 16, 2020 archaeology astronauts Chapman University data engineering data science Flinders University NASA structured data the International Space Station unstructured data

How do humans behave off-planet? In order to answer this question, one must have a variety of data sources which are then analyzed to reveal…

Life

What is astrobiology and how does one enter the field?

Editor July 10, 2020 astrobiology biosignatures geology Mars Mars 2020 NASA organic material planetary science robotic missions SETI

Astrobiology is a rapidly growing area of space science. It is characterized by interdisciplinarity, bringing together perspectives from various scientific fields. It also addresses one…

Society

What impact does US military space infrastructure have on global society?

Editor July 3, 2020 GPS international banking meteorological constellations military superiority NASA space systems the Cold War the Space and Missile Systems Center the US Air Force the US Department of Defense

The US military is one of the most important entities in terms of developing space infrastructure that has global repercussions. Perhaps the most obvious example…

Life

What does Australia’s outback teach us about astrobiology?

Editor April 24, 2020 astrobiology Australia ExoMars2020 Mars Mars2020 NASA origins of life the European Space Agency the Outback Western Australia

How did life originate on Earth? This is still an open question. It is furthermore one that relates to the field of astrobiology – knowing…

Ancestors

What are the hidden tales of the Apollo program?

Editor April 10, 2020 astronauts documentaries engineers history Honeywell NASA oral histories scientists spacecraft the Apollo program

The Apollo program is well-known both inside and outside the space community. Its achievements are important benchmarks in humanity’s engagement with space. Much focus is…

Business Society

How should Australia participate in space exploration?

Editor February 21, 2020 Australia NASA South Australia space agencies space exploration Sputnik the Australian Space Agency the Space Age tracking stations Woomera

Australia played a central role in space exploration in the early years of the Space Age. Some argue there has been a lull since then…

Business

Is the US launch industry experiencing a “bubble”?

Editor December 13, 2019 government policies NASA NewSpace satellite servicing space policy speculative bubbles the launch industry the space economy the space sector

The US launch industry is in a state of rapid expansion. For the past several decades, government policies have promoted its development. In the last…

Machine Worlds

How did MESSENGER revolutionize our understanding of Mercury?

Editor October 25, 2019 comets exoplanets flybys geology magnetic fields Mariner 10 Mercury NASA planetary science rocky planets

Mercury, one of Earth’s rocky neighbors, is one of our Solar System’s most enigmatic planets. It is notoriously difficult to study due to its close…