From The Space Review, what’s the purpose of a 21st century space agency? Jeff Foust wonders; and is history — human events — just never-ending repetition, or does it progress, with humanity learning and avoiding the mistakes of the past? Dwayne Day on history’s rhymes. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's leading space science lab, started by a co-founder with deep ties to the occult. What would a starship actually look like? Science fiction likes to imagine interstellar vehicles as sleek, aerodynamic ships — but there’s no air in space, and voyaging to the stars will require something that looks much different than an oversized jet. Property rights in space: Rand Simberg on the legal framework needed to settle the final frontier. Our imperiled world: It took billions of years to make the earth habitable for humans — Owen Gingerich warns the United Nations how quickly that can be reversed. Austin Considine on a time-capsule launched into space for aliens to find when all the humans are gone. The first chapter from Near-Earth Objects: Finding Them Before They Find Us by Donald K. Yeomans. Are you healthy enough to be a space tourist? Almost being there: Adam Mann on why the future of space exploration is not what you think.
