As the Augustine Commission studies NASA’s options for future manned spaceflight, Sally Ride pointed out the obvious: we don’t have the budget for an ambitious program. Regarding sending people to the moon and Mars, with the money currently available to NASA, “you just can’t get there” she says. Norman Augustine appears to agree. “If we [...]

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is on a trip to the moon—and sending back its first pictures. Would it be silly to say that these images of that gray slagheap orbiting the earth are beautiful? To me, in a strangely stark way, they are. The LRO orbits the moon at about 30 miles altitude. That’s half [...]

The tabloid story of a love-triangle gone bad—which included an allegedly crazed astronaut—continues. Lisa Nowak, who’s fame as an astroanut has been overshadowed by her alleged plot against a love-rival, may get her day in court this summer. She’s been charged with battery, attempted kidnapping and attempted burglary with assault. A pre-trial hearing has been [...]