Ad Astra: The Magazine of the National Space Society

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Ad Astra (“To the Stars”) is the award-winning magazine of the National Space Society, featuring the latest news in space exploration and stunning full-color photography. It is published quarterly and mailed to all National Space Society members as part of their membership benefits, as well as to subscriber libraries, schools, and businesses.

Access electronic editions at INSIDE.NSS.ORG

Index to Back Issues of Ad Astra Magazine

Member registration to INSIDE.NSS.ORG gives online access to all full issues. Public back issue pages include book reviews, selected articles, table of contents, and more. Complete online electronic editions of issues from 2009 onward are available for NSS members when logged in to INSIDE.NSS.ORG.

2023

• Winter (Volume 35 Number 1)

2022

• Fall (Volume 34 Number 4)
• Summer (Volume 34 Number 3)
• Spring (Volume 34 Number 2)
• Winter (Volume 34 Number 1)

2021

• Fall (Volume 33 Number 4)
• Summer (Volume 33 Number 3)
• Spring (Volume 33 Number 2)
• Winter (Volume 33 Number 1)

2020

• Fall (Volume 32 Number 4)
• Summer (Volume 32 Number 3)
• Spring (Volume 32 Number 2)
• Winter (Volume 32 Number 1)

2019

• Fall (Volume 31 Number 4)
• Summer (Volume 31 Number 3)
• Spring (Volume 31 Number 2) Special Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Edition
• Winter (Volume 31 Number 1)

2018

• Special Issue (Volume 30 Number 5) Roadmap to Space Settlement
• Fall (Volume 30 Number 4)
• Summer (Volume 30 Number 3)
• Spring (Volume 30 Number 2)
• Winter (Volume 30 Number 1)

2017

• Fall (Volume 29 Number 3)
  • NASA’s DART Mission Targets Twins for Asteroid Defense
• Summer (Volume 29 Number 2)
  • Printing Our Future on Mars
• Spring (Volume 29 Number 1)
  • Gerard O’Neill’s Vision for Space Settlement

2016

• Winter (Volume 28 Number 4)
  • A Radically Easier Market-Driven Path to Space Settlement
• Fall (Volume 28 Number 3)
  • Babies on Mars
• Summer (Volume 28 Number 2)
  • Asteroid Mining: Viable, Affordable, and Soon
• Spring (Volume 28 Number 1)
  • The International Space Station: Testbed for Deep-Space Missions

2015

• Winter (Volume 27 Number 4)
  • Back to the Moon Faster for Less
• Fall (Volume 27 Number 3)
  • Hayabusa 2
• Summer (Volume 27 Number 2)
  • Asteroid Mining and Planetary Defense
• Spring (Volume 27 Number 1)
  • Reducing the Risk of Long Duration Spaceflight

2014

• Winter (Volume 26 Number 4)
  • The Age of In-Space Manufacturing
• Fall (Volume 26 Number 3)
  • Unlocking the Potential of Space Elevators
• Summer (Volume 26 Number 2)
  • Reviewing Space Solar Power Policy
• Spring (Volume 26 Number 1)
  • Milestones to Space Settlement: An NSS Roadmap

2013

• Winter (Volume 25 Number 4)
  • Distant Skyline: A Vision of What’s Beyond ISS
• Fall (Volume 25 Number 3)
  • Kalpana One: What Will It Be Like to Live in Space?
• Summer (Volume 25 Number 2)
  • The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Comes to ISS
• Spring (Volume 25 Number 1)
  • SPS-ALPHA: A Novel Approach to Practical Space Solar Power

2012

• Winter (Volume 24 Number 4)
  • NEAs: The Solar System’s Low-Hanging Fruit
• Fall (Volume 24 Number 3)
  • Milestones to Space Settlement: An NSS Roadmap
• Summer (Volume 24 Number 2)
  • Observations from the 2012 Legislative Blitz
• Spring (Volume 24 Number 1)
  • The Development of Space: Opportunities to Improve Life on Earth

2011

• Winter (Volume 23 Number 4)
  • NSS-Kalam Initiative Reaches out to China
• Fall (Volume 23 Number 3)
  • Been There, Never Done This: An International Lunar Research Park
  • Visions and Voyages: Planetary Science Priorities for 2013-2022
• Summer (Volume 23 Number 2)
  • Lunar Resources: Unlocking the Space Frontier
• Spring (Volume 23 Number 1)
  • Steps for Planetary Defense

2010

• Winter (Volume 22 Number 4)
  • Solar Power Satellite Design Competition [PDF]
• Fall (Volume 22 Number 3)
  • The New Face of the Moon [PDF]
• Summer (Volume 22 Number 2)
  • Science on the International Space Station [PDF]
• Spring (Volume 22 Number 1)
  • Racing Through Space: The International Space Station [PDF]

2009

• Winter (Volume 21 Number 4)
  • LCROSS: Finding Water on the Moon [PDF]
• Fall (Volume 21 Number 3)
  • A look at the Augustine Comission Report [PDF]
• Summer (Volume 21 Number 2)
  • Space Tourism [PDF]
• Spring (Volume 21 Number 1)
  • How Space Can Improve Life on Earth [PDF]

2008

• Winter (Volume 20 Number 4)
  • Special Report: The Threat of Impact [PDF 1.7 MB]
  • Shackleton Dome: Is a Domed Lunar City Possible?
• Fall (Volume 20 Number 3)
  • Commercial Space Transportation: A Modern Day Everest
• Summer (Volume 20 Number 2)
  • Special Report: Back to the Moon [PDF 4.3 MB]
  • A conversation with NSS Space Elevator Team leader Bert Murray [PDF]
• Spring (Volume 20 Number 1)
  • Special Report on Space-Based Solar Power [PDF 1.5 MB]

2007

• Winter (Volume 19 Number 4)
  • NASA’s Dawn Mission: Opening Up Asteroids to Space Settlement?
• Fall (Volume 19 Number 3)
  • Fair Warning, Deadly Response: The Asteroid Threat
• Summer (Volume 19 Number 2)
  • Wanted: Someone to Watch Over Us
• Spring (Volume 19 Number 1)
  • Moon Base: The Next Step in the Exploration of the Solar System
  • Zero G, Zero Tax: Enabling Private Space Enterprise Through Tax Incentives

2006

• Winter (Volume 18 Number 4)
  • Belgian Student Wins NSS-NASA Space Settlement Design Contest
• Fall (Volume 18 Number 3)
  • Reaching the “Tipping Point” for Space Tourism
• Summer (Volume 18 Number 2)
  • Mining Near-Earth Asteroids
• Spring (Volume 18 Number 1)
  • Making Sun Shades from Moon Dust: Solution for Climate Change

2005

• Winter (Volume 17 Number 4)
  • Luna Palooza! NASA’s Blueprint for Returning to the Moon
• Fall (Volume 17 Number 3)
  • One Nation, Over Regulated: Is ITAR Stalling the New Space Race?
• Summer (Volume 17 Number 2)
  • Nuclear Power: Now More Than Ever, Or Never?
• Spring (Volume 17 Number 1)
  • Special Report on China’s Space Program

2004

• “Winter 2005” (Volume 16 Number 4)
  • Inside the Mars Rover Missions
• July-August-September (Volume 16 Number 3)
  • The U. S. Blueprint for Space Exploration: The Aldridge Commission Report
• April-May-June (Volume 16 Number 2)
  • Future Earth Prosperity Will Depend on Resources in Space
• January-February-March (Volume 16 Number 1)
  • The Case for Solar Power from Space

2003

• September-October-November (Volume 15 Number 4)
  • Burt Rutan’s Personal Space [PDF]
• June-July-August (Volume 15 Number 3)
  • The 2002 NSS Chapter Awards [PDF]
• March-April-May (Volume 15 Number 2)
  • The Columbia Investigation [PDF]
• January-February (Volume 15 Number 1)
  • Space Elevator: A 21st century solution for space transportation [PDF]

2002

• November-December (Volume 14 Number 6)
  • The New International Space University Campus in Strasbourg
• September-October (Volume 14 Number 5)
  • Diversity and Today’s NASA [PDF]
• July-August (Volume 14 Number 4)
  • The Future of Space Transportation [PDF]
• May-June (Volume 14 Number 3)
  • Mars on Earth [PDF]
• March-April (Volume 14 Number 2)
  • The Future of Rocket Science [PDF]
• January-February (Volume 14 Number 1)
  • Life in Extreme Environments

2001

• November-December (Volume 13 Number 6)
  • Spacesuits, Firefighters, and Helping Heroes
  • When Terrorists Threatened Apollo [PDF]
• September-October (Volume 13 Number 5)
  • Controlled Environment Systems Research at the University of Guelph [PDF]
• July-August (Volume 13 Number 4)
  • International Space Cooperation: Economy as a Main Driver [PDF]
• May-June (Volume 13 Number 3)
  • Youth for Space in Turkey
• March-April (Volume 13 Number 2)
  • The Spaceship that Came in From the Cold War: The Untold Story of the DC-X
• January-February (Volume 13 Number 1)
  • NSS Envisioned Milestones on the Roadmap to Human Settlement of Space
  • Technological Barriers to Space Settlement
  • Political Barriers to Human Settlement of Space
  • Social Barriers to Human Settlement of Space
  • Economic Barriers to Space Settlement

Some Ad Astra articles from the 1990s

• The Promise of Mars, by Robert Zubrin (May-June 1996)
• The Case for Colonizing Mars, by Robert Zubrin (July-August 1996)
• The Significance of the Martian Frontier, by Robert Zubrin (September-October, 1994)
• The National Space Institute (November-December 1994)
• The L-5 Society (November-December 1994)
• See also: L5 News Back Issues