Huntsville Alabama L5 Society (HAL5) - Project HALO

Story and photos by Burt Dicht
NSS Managing Director of Membership
Above: Burt Dicht getting the NSS table ready before the guests arrive

On July 20, 1969, humanity first set foot on another world. Fifty-seven years later, that achievement continues to inspire new generations to look beyond the horizon.

On July 20, 2026, 151 people gathered for a special brunch at Space220 in EPCOT at Walt Disney World to celebrate National Space Exploration Day. The annual observance commemorates the Apollo 11…

Today, on the 57th anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing, this inspiring song commemorating the past and the future of our presence on the Moon was released. It is written and arranged by NSS member Don Deever, who received an NSS Excellence Award for his contributions to the NSS Roadmap to Space Settlement. The lyrics are below.

THE MOON IS CALLING US HOME
Song Lyrics, Music and Arrangement by Dr. Donny Deever
Performed by America 250 Band

[Intro]
[Mission Control]
“Tranquility Base…

The National Space Society (NSS) today announced that it is delivering a letter to Congress and the Administration addressing concerns and recommendations regarding NASA’s draft Request for Proposal for the Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) Program. The letter, co-authored with the Space Frontier Foundation (SFF), calls for changes to ensure the program fulfills its promise of a sustainable, competitive, and commercially driven low Earth orbit economy.

As NASA transitions from the International…

The National Space Society invites you to the next Space Forum

Thursday, July 23, 2026, 8:00 pm to 9:15 pm EST

With special guest

Vice President for Human Space Exploration
Orion Program Manager
Lockheed Martin

The Artemis II mission marked a turning point in America’s human spaceflight program. For the first time in almost 60 years, astronauts traveled beyond low Earth orbit, completing a successful journey around…

The Martine Rothblatt Space Settlement in Our Lifetime Business Plan Competition is Now Open for 2027

Image: Sathesh Raj Periasamey and Florence Pauline Basubas present their business plan. Credit: NSS/Travis Wicks

The National Space Society congratulates the winners of the Rothblatt Space Settlement in Our Lifetime Business Plan Competition for 2026. The competition offers cash prizes totaling $32,000 USD for the best three business plans that will serve to advance, in some way, the movement…

Category: Nonfiction
Reviewed by: Casey Suire
Title: Designing Farms in Space: Balances for Life Support, Food and Settlement
Author: Bryce L. Meyer
Format: Hardcover/Kindle
Pages: 478
Publisher: Springer
Date: January 2026
Retail price: $189.67/$159.99
ISBN: 978-3032043948
Find this book

In the 2015 film The Martian, astronaut Mark Watney becomes stranded on the Red Planet following a dust storm. Millions of miles away from Earth, Watney, a trained botanist, famously survives on Martian-grown…

Tianwen-2 Spacecraft is Scheduled to Return Samples of the “Mini-Moon” to Earth in 2027

The National Space Society (NSS) commends the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on the announcement of the successful arrival of its Tianwen-2 spacecraft at asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa. The spacecraft launched on May 28, 2025, and is reportedly positioned to begin the most critical phase of its deep-space mission—preparing to sample the asteroid. If China is successful in this, and in returning the…

By Burt Dicht
NSS Managing Director of Membership

Image: Mentors and participants in the 2026 NSS Speed Mentoring program gather following the session at ISDC 2026. Also pictured are astronauts Hoot Gibson, Steven Hawley, and Susan Kilrain, who attended the conference.

Some of the most meaningful moments at the International Space Development Conference don’t happen on the main stage. They happen in the conversations between students and experienced professionals, in first-time presenters…

National Space Society Annual Conference Joined NASA Leaders, Astronauts, and Space Entrepreneurs with Space Enthusiasts, Professionals, Advocates, and Students

The National Space Society’s annual International Space Development Conference concluded on June 7 and was widely praised by attendees, with one of the best domestic attendance records in recent years.

The conference, which will be in its 45th year in 2027, hosted NASA leaders, space entrepreneurs, academics, scientists, engineers, and…

Category: Nonfiction
Reviewed by: Douglas Graham Adler
Title: Surveyor: Lunar Exploration Program: The NASA Mission Reports
Editor: Robert Godwin
Format: Paperback
Pages:178
Publisher: Apogee Books
Date: May 2026
Retail price: $27.95 from the publisher
ISBN-13: 978-1894959650

Apogee Books, the venerable publisher of innumerable technical works on all aspects of spaceflight, has reissued its volume on Surveyor for the program’s 60th anniversary. Although forgotten by many, NASA’s Surveyor…