Welcome to the NSS blog. Feel free to comment on any post (comments are moderated so won’t show up immediately). Contributors to the NSS Blog are unpaid volunteers. Unless specifically labeled an NSS position or press release, all blog posts represent the views of the author and not of NSS, even if written by an NSS officer.
By Burt DichtNSS Managing Director of Membership Gazing out the window at our beautiful Earth below added to the celebratory nature of Space Exploration Day—July...
By Dale Skran Most NSS members take it for granted that the term “space development” is widely understood. After all, we have been running the...
© by Dale Skran, NSS Chief Operating Officer Image: NASA Lucy mission will fly by eight asteroids (courtesy NASA) You can’t develop or settle that...
A grass-roots media project involving some NSS members is now available on Amazon Prime: “50/50 Lunar Legends” a new documentary about the 50th anniversary of...
By Jerome Glasnovic If you have a house with a basement and it was built before the 1980s, if you look up in your basement...
The new year opened with another first for the U.S. space program – the successful flyby by New Horizons of the Kuiper Belt Object (KBO)...
By Trevor J. Mills OSIRIS-REx has just entered orbit around asteroid Bennu on New Year’s Eve, 2018. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer...
Illustration by Akihiro Ikeshita (C) Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) By Trevor Mills What is Hayabusa2? Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa2 (“Peregrine Falcon” in Japanese) is a...
The Twin Study propelled NASA into the genomics era of space travel. It was a ground-breaking study comparing what happened to astronaut Scott Kelly, in...
The final chapter in a remarkable mission of exploration and discovery, Cassini’s Grand Finale, ending September 15, is in many ways like a brand new...
The National Space Society celebrates the life and contributions of the visionary champion of space exploration, Honorable Senator John Glenn, who passed away today. “John...
The National Space Society congratulates Dr. Alan Stern on winning the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal. This award is the highest honor that NASA can...
This long essay defends the NSS Vision against those who, like the author of the book being reviewed, think “we shouldn’t colonize Mars or the Moon, or even vacation there.” Ben Bramble, an Australian philosopher who teaches at Australian National University, has penned a YAASS (Yet Another Anti-Space-Settlement) book. These books are multiplying like flies, so space settlement advocates must be gaining ground to generate such an abundant response.
In HOTOL & Skylon: The Story of Britain’s Spaceplanes, Rob Coppinger covers the story of both in great detail, with the reminiscences of many who played integral roles in these ambitious programs. The book shines when it captures the enthusiasm and excitement of those involved, and there are extensive quotes from many who devoted years of work on these projects.
Anyone seeking a short but comprehensive introduction to human spaceflight would do well to start with this book. It reviews its history, highlights the accomplishments and tragedies, and describes the equipment used. It also looks at living in space, what space travelers experience, and how they work.
Back in 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon. Apogee Books has provided an English-language NASA translation of a detailed report originally released by the USSR Academy of Sciences.
By Robin Scott NSS Chapter Middle Tennessee Space Society (MTSS) President Chuck Schlemm performs outreach, directly contacting about 560 attendees (STEM teachers, school faculty, students,...
By Burt Dicht NSS Space Coast Correspondent Some weeks in spaceflight are just busy. This one was something more. Over a period of four days,...
By Burt Dicht NSS Space Coast Correspondent A large anvil cloud hanging over Florida’s Space Coast added some uncertainty to the final hours of the...
Applications open 1 Oct – 1 Dec, 2026 The National Space Society’s Global Space Debates is a unique, 100% virtual program that brings high school...
