Asteroid mining, Mars, Titan and the new space age
Plain-language writing on the science, the companies and the ideas shaping humanity's move beyond Earth. New posts twice a day.
How Do You Get Water Out of an Asteroid? Methods, Energy and What Nobody Has Done Yet
Asteroid water is locked in clay, not ice. How much is really there, how you bake it out, what it costs in energy, and what a small first test could prove.
How Much Is an Asteroid Worth? The Honest Math
Headlines say 16 Psyche is worth $10 quintillion. We run the numbers against real metal markets and real mission costs and show why that figure is meaningless.
Mars vs Moon: Where Should Humans Settle First?
Three days away or nine months? The Moon and Mars compared on travel, radiation, water, gravity and dust, with sources, and why the order matters in 2026.
Terraforming Titan: What It Would Actually Take
Titan has air, lakes and weather, but it is -179°C. What terraforming Saturn's moon would truly require: heat, oxygen, gravity, time, and why nobody has a plan.
The Outer Space Treaty and Who Owns Asteroid Resources
No nation can own an asteroid, but six countries let companies keep what they mine. A plain guide to the Outer Space Treaty, Artemis Accords and NZ's stance.
What Does It Cost to Launch a Small Spacecraft to an Asteroid in 2026?
Rideshare is $7,000 per kg to Earth orbit, but nobody sells a ticket to deep space. The real routes, prices and delta-v for a 200 kg asteroid prospector.
What Is a Community-Funded Space Mission?
LightSail proved a crowd can fund a spacecraft. How Frontier's model works: a 90/10 split, a public ledger, every contributor named, and a fixed-supply token.
What Bennu Asteroid Samples Reveal About Asteroid Mining Targets
NASA's Bennu asteroid samples contain amino acids, salts and nucleobases. Here is what they mean for asteroid mining, water extraction and choosing targets.
Which Asteroid Should Humanity Mine First? A Sourced Shortlist for 2027–2032
We ranked the near-Earth asteroids a small spacecraft could actually reach between 2027 and 2032, using NASA's own data. The honest answer surprised us.
Asteroid Mining in 2026: Where It Really Stands, and What Happens Next
AstroForge, Karman+ and the first prospecting missions: an honest look at how close asteroid mining is in 2026, what has gone wrong, and why water, not platinum, is the real prize.
Can Humans Really Live on Mars? What the Latest Science Says in 2026
A new astronaut heart study, Japan's mission to Mars's moon Phobos, and NASA's push for a moon base: what 2026 tells us about whether humans can live on Mars, and how far terraforming really is.
Is There Life on Europa? What Scientists Know and Still Don't
Is there life on Europa? Here is what we know about Jupiter's ocean moon, what Europa Clipper and JUICE will measure, and why the answer is still open.