What the Future of NASA Looks Like :}

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA has been exploring the world’s skies since 1958, and its mission doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, while some people are worried about how much money should be spent on space exploration when there are so many problems at home, NASA is planning to invest billions of dollars into the research and development of new space travel technologies that could change our lives forever in the not-so-distant future. Here’s what the future of NASA looks like.

The Asteroid Redirect Mission

If we’re going to continue moving farther into space, it would be best to learn about and understand what astral bodies are out there. Right now, that’s a massive pain. Think about it: We can’t even spot every asteroid in our own solar system without a lot of hard work. Luckily, NASA is working on fixing that with its Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The goal here is to grab an asteroid and bring it back to Earth —no small feat! If all goes according to plan, ARM will allow scientists to explore how such rocks form, change over time and interact with their environment. It’ll also allow them to get a head start on potentially protecting Earth from future impacts and more.

How Will We Put Humans on Mars?

It’s a question as old as space travel itself: Why go to Mars? After all, it’s not like you can take a weekend trip there. But many scientists and engineers are convinced that we should have a long-term presence on our closest planetary neighbor. With missions planned for 2020 and 2030, we may see humans make it to Mars in our lifetime (or at least those who don’t mind taking an eight-month ride). So what will it reach when they appear? Here’s a quick preview of some key projects we can expect to see in the coming years.

The Launch System and Exploration Vehicles

The Space Launch System is a heavy lift send-off vehicle planned to take people past Earth's orbit. This spacecraft consists of both a rocket and crew capsule that is being built by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, respectively. The SLS will be capable of lifting 25 metric tons into low-Earth orbit and will also feature upgrades necessary for future human space exploration missions. According to NASA, The two-stage fully integrated SLS has a core stage with four RL10 engines, two five-segment solid rocket boosters (SRBs) with twin redundant avionics systems, an Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), and an Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). All together, these components add up to be about 24 meters in height and 10 meters in diameter.

Space Tourism

In 2012, Space Adventures (the company that has sent more people to space than any other) signed a deal with Virgin Galactic, to begin offering trips into space for civilians. The cost will be $200,000. The flights will take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico and travel 62 miles above Earth’s surface. When fully operational, Virgin Galactic plans to send six passengers at a time on two-and-half-hour flights into space. They will experience weightlessness and see Earth against an out-of-this-world background. Eventually, Space Adventures hopes to offer trips where participants float freely outside their spacecraft as part of an international space station for weeks or months at a time.

Commercial Space Stations

The new space race is on, and it's happening in low-Earth orbit. A number of private companies are already planning for their own orbital stations to service everything from research to microgravity manufacturing. The most noted example is Orbital Sciences Corporation, which has secured contracts from NASA to fly cargo missions with its Cygnus spacecraft. Meanwhile, Bigelow Aerospace is putting together plans for a private station called Sundancer—which will host astronauts from SpaceX  (If you want to know about SPACAX then check it out ELON MUSK's) and Virgin Galactic when it’s done. And who knows? Maybe we'll even see movie nights at Sundancer!

Crowd-Sourcing Astronomy from Orbit 

Ever since Sputnik, we’ve dreamed about putting a telescope in space—one that would give us a clear view of our universe. Now, some scientists are hoping to do just that by launching citizen-science missions into orbit. These projects involve small satellites, or CubeSats, which carry telescopes and cameras that allow users on Earth to make observations. It’s essentially crowd-sourcing astronomy from orbit. By putting cheap telescopes into space, people can become involved in astronomy without spending thousands or even millions of dollars on equipment. While previous attempts have launched remote observatories or enabled apps for public use, what sets these projects apart is their capability for research opportunities.

The facility of space analysis is surely superb. With so many people pushing to go farther and faster, we're hopeful that at least some humans will make it into space in our lifetime (and, who knows, maybe a few intelligent aliens too). And while we may not live to see it ourselves, a cosmic shift like that could bring some amazing new changes along with it—from advances in technology and medicine to unexpected opportunities for humanity here on Earth.

 But no matter how small or big your dream is for tomorrow's world, you can help shape it by doing something today. Keep in mind: An outing of 1,000 miles starts with one step.