From the Apollo missions to the Moon to landing rovers on Mars, NASA has successfully taken many giant leaps for mankind. As the agency celebrates its 60th anniversary what does the future hold? In the coming decades, astronauts and scientists plan to continue gathering information about the stars and planets beyond Earth, and two missions in particular will likely take up much of NASA’s time and resources. First among them is NASA’s return to the Moon and second is the continued exploration of Mars.
Although each administration has championed various initiatives to influence the direction of the space program, revisiting the Moon has remained a top priority. Not only will it allow NASA to test new technologies, but also scientists hope it will enable them to explore a subject that has fascinated humans since NASA’s early days: the possibility of sustaining human life on other planets. To that end, NASA recently launched the Mars InSight spacecraft on a mission to gather information about the planet's interior. Scientists hope this new data will help them determine whether or not humans could possibly live there in the future. The Mars InSight mission has attracted the attention of both designers and innovators. New space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have begun to compete with traditional aerospace contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrup Grumman. As NASA has been moving forward on a return to the Moon, other designers have seen the potential for humans inhabiting another planet and are busy building facilities specifically for this purpose.
What are the next steps for NASA? Will the agency continue to tap the resources of the private sector to fund future missions and projects? Matthew Buffington, Director of Communications at NASA Ames Research Center, joins us to discuss NASA's next leaps.
SPEAKER:
Matthew BuffingtonDirector of the Office of Communications, NASA Ames Research Center
show less
Although each administration has championed various initiatives to influence the direction of the space program, revisiting the Moon has remained a top priority. Not only will it allow NASA to test new technologies, but also scientists hope it will enable them to explore a subject that has fascinated humans since NASA’s early days: the possibility of sustaining human life on other planets. To that end, NASA recently launched the Mars InSight spacecraft on a mission to gather information about the planet's interior. Scientists hope this new data will help them determine whether or not humans could possibly live there in the future. The Mars InSight mission has attracted the attention of both designers and innovators. New space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have begun to compete with traditional aerospace contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrup Grumman. As NASA has been moving forward on a return to the Moon, other designers have seen the potential for humans inhabiting another planet and are busy building facilities specifically for this purpose.
What are the next steps for NASA? Will the agency continue to tap the resources of the private sector to fund future missions and projects? Matthew Buffington, Director of Communications at NASA Ames Research Center, joins us to discuss NASA's next leaps.
SPEAKER:
Matthew BuffingtonDirector of the Office of Communications, NASA Ames Research Center
From the Apollo missions to the Moon to landing rovers on Mars, NASA has successfully taken many giant leaps for mankind. As the agency celebrates its 60th anniversary what does the future hold? In the coming decades, astronauts and scientists plan to continue gathering information about the stars and planets beyond Earth, and two missions in particular will likely take up much of NASA’s time and resources. First among them is NASA’s return to the Moon and second is the continued exploration of Mars.
Although each administration has championed various initiatives to influence the direction of the space program, revisiting the Moon has remained a top priority. Not only will it allow NASA to test new technologies, but also scientists hope it will enable them to explore a subject that has fascinated humans since NASA’s early days: the possibility of sustaining human life on other planets. To that end, NASA recently launched the Mars InSight spacecraft on a mission to gather information about the planet's interior. Scientists hope this new data will help them determine whether or not humans could possibly live there in the future. The Mars InSight mission has attracted the attention of both designers and innovators. New space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have begun to compete with traditional aerospace contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrup Grumman. As NASA has been moving forward on a return to the Moon, other designers have seen the potential for humans inhabiting another planet and are busy building facilities specifically for this purpose.
What are the next steps for NASA? Will the agency continue to tap the resources of the private sector to fund future missions and projects? Matthew Buffington, Director of Communications at NASA Ames Research Center, joins us to discuss NASA's next leaps.
SPEAKER:
Matthew BuffingtonDirector of the Office of Communications, NASA Ames Research Center
read more
Although each administration has championed various initiatives to influence the direction of the space program, revisiting the Moon has remained a top priority. Not only will it allow NASA to test new technologies, but also scientists hope it will enable them to explore a subject that has fascinated humans since NASA’s early days: the possibility of sustaining human life on other planets. To that end, NASA recently launched the Mars InSight spacecraft on a mission to gather information about the planet's interior. Scientists hope this new data will help them determine whether or not humans could possibly live there in the future. The Mars InSight mission has attracted the attention of both designers and innovators. New space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have begun to compete with traditional aerospace contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrup Grumman. As NASA has been moving forward on a return to the Moon, other designers have seen the potential for humans inhabiting another planet and are busy building facilities specifically for this purpose.
What are the next steps for NASA? Will the agency continue to tap the resources of the private sector to fund future missions and projects? Matthew Buffington, Director of Communications at NASA Ames Research Center, joins us to discuss NASA's next leaps.
SPEAKER:
Matthew BuffingtonDirector of the Office of Communications, NASA Ames Research Center
show less
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