As good today as it was 20 years ago
The first private sector lunar landers
Loren Grush on three small companies attempting to place a lander on the moon in the next two years
What’s next in the commercial space transportation market
Dallas Bienhoff on the near term future of launch and cis-lunar infrastructure
The economics of mining water on the Moon
This white paper outlines the business case and identifies the gaps to be closed
Terraforming Mars for settlement in 50 years?
Orbital debris removal experiment scheduled for launch in 2020
One barrier to establishing a vibrant space based economy in low earth orbit and beyond is solving the increasingly alarming orbital debris problem. Tethers Unlimited, partnering with TriSept Corp., Millennium Space Systems and Rocket Lab plans to test a new technology to increase the drag of a test satellite when compared to a control payload in lower earth orbit early next year
NASA announces partnerships with industry on technologies needed to settle space
Of particular interest is work with SpaceX to study on-orbit refueling and rocket plume interaction with lunar regolith: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-us-industry-partnerships-to-advance-moon-mars-technology
Lunar in situ resource utilization
Dennis Wingo summarizes the historical context and business case for ISRU to enable lunar settlements: https://denniswingo.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/chicken-egg-chicken-on-the-moon/
National Space Society issues position paper on Space Solar Power
Download the paper here: https://space.nss.org/media/NSS-Position-Paper-Space-Solar-Power-2019.pdf
NASA publishes plan for commercial LEO development
The plan, entitled NASA’s Plan for Commercial LEO Development addresses supply and demand, as well as the steps that will be taken in the near-term, mid-term, and long-term: https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy/vision-for-low-earth-orbit-economy