Ad Astra Volume 27 Number 4 Winter 2015

ad astra magazine v27n4

Ad Astra 2015 Winter (Volume 27 Number 4)

Cover image: This lunar mining base is close to the Moon’s north pole, with crew habitats at left, power storage batteries and propellant depot at rear, and a lunar ferry taking off in the distance. The site is surrounded by tall solar power arrays, with a rocket propellant production plant in the right foreground and a trencher operating in the left foreground.

Image Credit: © Anna Nesterova

  • 12
    NEW HORIZONS VISITS PLUTO
    By Clifford R. McMurray
  • 18
    ISDC 2016:
    SPACE BEYOND BORDERS: THE INSIDE SCOOP

    By Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin
  • 22
    BACK TO THE MOON:
    GETTING THERE FASTER FOR LESS

    By Charles Miller and Sarah Preston
  • 28
    ’TIS NOT TOO LATE TO SEEK A NEWER WORLD:
    Finding Planets Outside Our Solar System

    By Lance Frazer
  • 32
    A BREAKTHROUGH IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND EDUCATION HELPS STUDENTS REACH FOR THE STARS
    By Lynne F. Zielinski, Fred J. Becker, and Alice M. Hoffman
  • 36
    TWEETING FROM SPACE
    By Travis K. Kircher
  • 38
    HOW TO CHANGE A LIFE:
    A Longstanding NSS Learning Program Inspires Young Minds to Seek Space-Focused Futures

    By Mark Barthelemy
  • 40
    KIP THORNE, SCIENCE STAR, WEIGHS IN ON ISDC 2015
    By Alla Malko, PhD
  • 44
    BECAUSE IT WOULD BE FANTASTIC
    An Interview with Erik Wernquist, Space Animation Mastermind

    By Mark Barthelemy
  • 47
    NSS CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS OF NEW HORIZONS SPARK PUBLIC INTEREST
    By Claire Stephens McMurray
  • 49
    SPACE MINERAL RESOURCES
    By Brad Blair
  • 7
    LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
    By Pat Silver
  • 8
    NSS CORRESPONDENCE
    NewSpace 2015 Conference
    By Alla Malko, PhD
  • 10
    NSS ANNOUNCEMENTS
    ISDC 2015 Virtual Reality Blowout
    By Al Anzaldua
  • 48
    LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR
    Cost of Returning to the Moon Reduced by a Factor of Ten
    By Mark Hopkins
  • 50
    BOOKS
    Welcome to Mars, by Buzz Aldrin
    Reviewed by Bart Leahy
    Hubble’s Universe, by Terrence Dickinson
    Reviewed by Claire S. McMurray
  • 52
    CHAPTER LISTINGS
  • 55
    SIGNING OFF
    Preparing for the Journey Home

Ad Astra 2015 Winter (Volume 27 Number 4)

Cover image: This lunar mining base is close to the Moon’s north pole, with crew habitats at left, power storage batteries and propellant depot at rear, and a lunar ferry taking off in the distance. The site is surrounded by tall solar power arrays, with a rocket propellant production plant in the right foreground and a trencher operating in the left foreground.

Image Credit: © Anna Nesterova

  • 12
    NEW HORIZONS VISITS PLUTO
    By Clifford R. McMurray
  • 18
    ISDC 2016:
    SPACE BEYOND BORDERS: THE INSIDE SCOOP

    By Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin
  • 22
    BACK TO THE MOON:
    GETTING THERE FASTER FOR LESS

    By Charles Miller and Sarah Preston
  • 28
    ’TIS NOT TOO LATE TO SEEK A NEWER WORLD:
    Finding Planets Outside Our Solar System

    By Lance Frazer
  • 32
    A BREAKTHROUGH IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND EDUCATION HELPS STUDENTS REACH FOR THE STARS
    By Lynne F. Zielinski, Fred J. Becker, and Alice M. Hoffman
  • 36
    TWEETING FROM SPACE
    By Travis K. Kircher
  • 38
    HOW TO CHANGE A LIFE:
    A Longstanding NSS Learning Program Inspires Young Minds to Seek Space-Focused Futures

    By Mark Barthelemy
  • 40
    KIP THORNE, SCIENCE STAR, WEIGHS IN ON ISDC 2015
    By Alla Malko, PhD
  • 44
    BECAUSE IT WOULD BE FANTASTIC
    An Interview with Erik Wernquist, Space Animation Mastermind

    By Mark Barthelemy
  • 47
    NSS CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS OF NEW HORIZONS SPARK PUBLIC INTEREST
    By Claire Stephens McMurray
  • 49
    SPACE MINERAL RESOURCES
    By Brad Blair
  • 7
    LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
    By Pat Silver
  • 8
    NSS CORRESPONDENCE
    NewSpace 2015 Conference
    By Alla Malko, PhD
  • 10
    NSS ANNOUNCEMENTS
    ISDC 2015 Virtual Reality Blowout
    By Al Anzaldua
  • 48
    LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR
    Cost of Returning to the Moon Reduced by a Factor of Ten
    By Mark Hopkins
  • 50
    BOOKS
    Welcome to Mars, by Buzz Aldrin
    Reviewed by Bart Leahy
    Hubble’s Universe, by Terrence Dickinson
    Reviewed by Claire S. McMurray
  • 52
    CHAPTER LISTINGS
  • 55
    SIGNING OFF
    Preparing for the Journey Home