Future of Space Exploration

 

Future space exploration could have a profound effect on society (even more than it already has). A better understanding of our place in the universe could change long standing beliefs. Space mining could help replenish Earth's resources or provide new minerals. Colonization of other worlds might even save society itself.

The Pros and Cons of Space Exploration

Pros

Drives innovation of smaller computers, digital equipment, new forms of fuels, artificial intelligence, and manufacturing.

Gaining knowledge of the universe, discovering new resources.

Zero gravity experiments.

Monitoring the sun, earth, and weather patterns for changes that could affect the planet.

Averting catastrophe from a comet or asteroid

Finding a habitable world.

Finding alien life.

Creates jobs.

It's an adventure.

Countries cooperate on missions.

Cons

High risk for the health and safety of astronauts.

The cost is enormous.

Difficult to service if something goes wrong.

Creates space junk.

Countries could compete for space resources.

Possibility of bringing dangerous organisms back to Earth, or infecting other worlds with our germs.

ISS sighting times and locations

Image from ESA/A. Baker, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO, via Wikimedia Commons

Search for ET

 

Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence research projects have scanned the sky for over 40 years looking for an intelligent signal. Could our level of intelligence be unique in the universe?

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Future Space Exploration Articles and Web Sites

• Space Exploration Websites

• I search the internet daily for new articles from around the world that interest me or I think will interest you. My hope is that it saves you time or helps students with their assignments. Listed by most recent first. Hit NEXT button for more articles

• Astronauts Could Take an Asteroid Ferry from Earth to Mars from Universe Today

• Dusty Snow on Mars Could Harbor Life According to a New NASA Simulation from Singularity Hub

• NASA Announces a New Class of Space Missions: Probe Explorers from Universe Today

• Controlled Propulsion for Gentle Landings from NASA

• Navigating the future of space exploration from UPR

• Nuclear Detonations Could Deflect Dangerous Asteroids Away from Earth from Universe Today

• 'Human race needs to expand beyond Earth,' says Prof Brian Cox from BBC

• And the Winner is…. Astronomy Photographers of the Year 2024 Announced from Universe Today

• First metal part 3D-printed in space paves way for deeper cosmic missions from TNW

• What is space made of? from The Conversation

• Reservoir of liquid water found deep in Martian rocks from BBC

• Hybrid system would create new ‘backbone’ for internet in space from Cornell University

• What could a future sovereign Mars economy look like? from Universe Today

• Propulsive Descent Technologies (PDT) from NASA

• This Ultra-Thin Lightsail Could Tow Tiny Spacecraft to the Nearest Stars from Singularity Hub

• The In-The-Sky.org Planetarium website

• Real-life ‘stillsuit’: Dune-inspired upgrade for spacesuits allow astronauts to recycle urine into water from EurekAlert

• NASA Advances Research to Grow Habitats in Space from Fungi from NASA

• Webb telescope reveals star clusters in Cosmic Gems arc from Arizona State University

• What will we eat on the Moon? The food is literally out of this world from BBC

• Why do we need to explore space? from Airbus

• This startup established a Bluetooth connection from space. Here's what that means from ZDNet

• New Evidence for Our Solar System’s Ghost: Planet Nine from Universe Today

• Will We Know if TRAPPIST-1e has Life? from Universe Today

• NASA has greenlit plans to send a giant drone to Saturn’s largest moon from The Verge

• Opening the Moon for All with NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle video

• Overcoming the challenges of growing plants in space from Cosmos Magazine

• Examining Lunar Soil for Moon-Based Construction from Northwestern University

• Watch a Real-Time Map of Starlinks Orbiting Earth from Universe Today

• Astronomers Unveil Strong Magnetic Fields Spiraling at the Edge of Milky Way’s Central Black Hole from Event Horizon Telescope

• Citizen Scientists Find Fifteen Active Asteroids from Universe Today

• Mining helium-3 on the Moon has been talked about forever—now a company will try from Ars Technica

• CUTE's groundbreaking design paves the way for future small-scale space missions from Space Daily

• Here’s What a Solar Eclipse Looks Like on Mars from Gizmodo

• Water Found on the Surface of an Asteroid from Universe Today

• How Humans Can Adapt to Space from NeuroLogica Blog

• ESA launches first metal 3D printer to ISS from ESA

• NASA Selects Bold Proposal to Swarm Proxima Centauri with Tiny Probes from Universe Today

• NASA Aims to Put Human-like Robots in Space from VOA Learning English

• NASA’s Tech Demo Streams First Video From Deep Space via Laser from JPL

• 99% of Space Junk is Undetectable. That Could Change Soon from Universe Today

• Are We Ready to Head to Mars? Not So Fast. from Singularity Hub

• The skyhook solution for space junk from Aeon

• 16 Takeaways From the Explosive Second Test of SpaceX’s Starship Megarocket from Gizmodo

• Is this the future of space travel? Take a luxury ‘cruise’ across the solar system from Aeon

• The Lunar Swirl Mystery Deepens from Universe Today

• Airbus Launches Device to Keep Dead Satellites from Tumbling in Space from Gizmodo

• Get a Reality Check on Plans to Build Cities in Space from Universe Today

• Self-Repairing Solar Panels Are Heading For Space from CleanTechnica

• The virtual frontier: There is no need for humans in space from The Argonaut

• Lucy Completes its First Flyby… and Discovers a Bonus Asteroid from Universe Today

• Detailed Mars Water Map Shows Where to Land Future Explorers from Gizmodo

• A Flock of CubeSats Will Use Wings to Maneuver at the Edge of Space from Universe Today

• In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) from NASA

• Comets 101 − everything you need to know about the snow cones of space from The Conversation

• 5 Things to Know About NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications from JPL

• One of the Brightest Stars in the Sky is Actually a Satellite from Universe Today

• Moon base: Bangor scientists design fuel to live in space from BBC

• Assembling The Chinese Space Station from X

• The Whirlpool Galaxy, Seen by JWST from Universe Today

• Space junk in Earth orbit and on the Moon will increase with future missions − but nobody’s in charge of cleaning it up from The Conversation

• Why there's a rush to explore the Moon's enigmatic South Pole from BBC News

• A fusion rocket designed to travel 500,000 mph is under construction from Big Think

• NASA Plans to Unleash a Wolf Pack of Rovers Onto the Lunar Surface in 2024 from NASA

• NASA’s Deep Space Communications to Get a Laser Boost from JPL

• Fuel and Fire: NASA’s Artemis Missions to the Moon, feat. Metallica video

• NASA's complicated future on Mars from Axios

• Robotic 'Light Bender' on the moon could help Artemis astronauts keep the lights on from Space.com

• Check out the Cool New Designs for Europe’s Future Spacesuits from Universe Today

• What will astronauts on deep space missions eat? 'Neurogastronomy' may have the answer from Space.com

• SpaceX successfully launches world’s first space factory from Freethink

• Would children born beyond Earth ever be able to return to humanity’s home planet? from Aeon

• Artificial photosynthesis machines invented to create oxygen in space for astronauts from Earth.com

• If We Can Master Artificial Photosynthesis, We Can Thrive in Space from Universe Today

• Taste testing the space food of the future from CNN

• Vast says it will launch its first space station in 2025 on a Falcon 9 from Ars Technica

• Will we ever...hibernate in space? from BBC Future

• To Live on Mars, Human Architecture Has to Combine Science and Sci-Fi from Inverse

• What are Black Holes: The Journey From Theory to Reality from ZME Science

• Scientists say they have found more moons with oceans in the Solar System from Ars Technica

• One Day Astronauts Will Be Breathing Oxygen Made From Rocks from Universe Today

• NASA Announces Winners of 2023 Human Exploration Rover Challenge from NASA

• NASA Shows Mars Habitat where Four People Will Live for One Year from VOA

• Study: Humans Need to Create Earth-like Conditions to Survive in Space from VOA

• The Definitive Guide to SpaceX’s Starship Megarocket from Gizmodo

• These Upcoming Rockets Have Us Stoked About the Future of Spaceflight from Gizmodo

• New Close-up Images of Io from Juno, With More to Come from Universe Today

• How many satellites can we safely fit in Earth orbit? from Space.com

• Ingenious Technique Could Make Moon Farming Possible from Gizmodo

• Burning ice, metal clouds, gemstone rain – tour the strangest known exoplanets from Aeon

• Wind Could Power Future Settlements on Mars from Eos

• Astronomers Prepare to Launch LuSEE Night, A Test Observatory on the Far Side of the Moon from Universe Today

• Space Sail Experiment Showcases Promising Technique for Quickly Disposing Space Junk from Gizmodo

• NASA Announces Successful Test of New Propulsion Technology for Treks to Deep Space from Gizmodo

• Nuclear powered rockets could take us to Mars, but will the public accept them? from CBC

• Instead of Building Structures on Mars, we Could Grow Them With the Help of Bacteria from Universe Today

• A far-out plan to build an asteroid city from Big Think

• Perseverance drops off first Mars sample for future return to Earth from Astronomy.com

• Best Space Station Science Imagery of 2022 from NASA

• Outpost to build a revolutionary 'ferry' that will transport cargo from the ISS to Earth from Interesting Engineering

• We could build space cities in asteroids like in sci-fi with this wild concept from Space.com

• MARM, the new three-leg robot to transport weights and manipulate components in Space video

• What dangers must we overcome before we can live on Mars? from Aeon

• New ultra-thin solar cells could be the future of space power from Freethink

• Australia’s first rocket set to launch in 2023 from Freethink

• A Mission to Venus Could Sample its Atmosphere Directly, Searching for Life from Universe Today

• Play With an Interactive Map of the Observable Universe from Gizmodo

• The first satellites launched by Uganda and Zimbabwe aim to improve life on the ground from Minnesota Public Radio

• Will physics prevent SpinLaunch from succeeding? from Big Think

• Lucy Took This Picture of Earth as it was Making its Gravity Assist Maneuver from Universe Today

• This space-adapted solar panel can fold like origami from Popular Science

• Shields up! Radiation coating experiment will spend six months outside space station from Space.com

• Check out This Amazing Fly-through of a Futuristic Space Habitat from Universe Today

• Scientists dream up a massive floating solar farm in space - here's how it would work from Euronews

• Future Moon cities could look like bouncy houses from Inverse

• OneWeb unveils Innovation Challenge competition from Space News

• NASA successfully shifted an asteroid’s orbit – DART spacecraft crashed into and moved Dimorphos from The Conversation

• Hubble's Field Guide to Galaxies video

• The computer errors from outer space from BBC Future

• Raw solar-storm footage is the punk-rock antidote to sleek James Webb imagery from Aeon

• Mysterious Europa Gets an Extreme Closeup From NASA’s Juno Probe from Universe Today

• China has discovered a brand new moon mineral from Freethink

• A new plasma-based technology could be crucial for living on Mars from Inverse