From Earth to orbit (Jan. 26 - Feb. 1)
Kevin J. Harrigan | January 14, 2025
Engineering innovations have pushed the frontier of mankind's journey into space. Increasingly, our interconnected devices on Earth are dependent on the thousands of satellites orbiting our planet in the exosphere. With each passing day, humanity gets incrementally closer to a trip to Mars. But first, NASA intends to establish a lunar colony. To understand what it will take for humans to live in in space for years or decades on end, an immense amount of biological research must occur.
Perhaps for the first time in 50 years, space programs are exciting again. And it's not just NASA; rather the day-to-day operations are driven by a thriving private space industry delivering satellites, cargo and people to space like some type of sublime Uber.
Altogether, these technologies a redefining humanity's physical and electronic reach - and perhaps laying the path for a future among the stars.
Upcoming featured content
- From new commercial Moon landers to asteroid investigations, expect a slate of exciting space missions in 2025
- Tackling the space junk crisis: On-orbit servicers
- Bezos Blue Origin has successfully launched its New Glenn rocket to orbit
- 'Flexible' satellites are more common, but deploying them remains a challenge
From the GlobalSpec archives
- Breakthroughs in satellite internet enable truly remote connectivity (June 2024)
- What to make of UAPs and UFOs (July 2023)
- TechInsights Teardown: SpaceX Starlink Internet Kit (December 2022)
- Will robots replace NASA astronauts? (December 2022)
- The sensors powering NASA's martian rover (April 2021)
- Watch the hot fire test of NASA's largest launch rocket (March 2021)