Space Health as Critical Infrastructure for Lunar and Mars Settlement
Making the case that human health systems must be prioritized as foundational critical infrastructure for long-term lunar and Martian settlements. Current space architectures rely too heavily on low Earth orbit practices, which are inadequate for deep space missions due to the lack of rapid evacuation, resupply, and real-time communication. To achieve sustainable habitation, autonomous medical capabilities, physiological monitoring, and behavioral design must be integrated directly into the initial engineering and habitat architectures.
Space Tourism: Beyond the Launch Pad — The Business, Branding, and Strategic Challenges of Opening Space to Humanity
Space tourism is a viable sector of the commercial space market. While it has great economic potential, the space tourism market must overcome a number of hurdles, including ticket prices, safety and regulatory risks, and environmental concerns. Success will require not just innovation but strategic branding that positions the industry as pioneers of humanity’s spacefaring future.
Space Age Forecasts From the TechCast Project
An essay from 2021 making a number of predictions on space development based on forecasts from The TechCast Project. Areas addressed are TechCast’s method of collective intelligence, forecasting the space age, space commercialization, space tourism, Moon colonies, Solar Power Satellites, human missions to Mars, star travel, and first contact.
The Polar-Lunar Continuum: A New Economic Framework for Cislunar Development
This essay introduces the Polar-Lunar Continuum, a framework that reframes cislunar space into three distinct, interconnected economic zones. Discover how shifting from destination-focused exploration to corridor-focused development provides a crucial roadmap for policymakers, investors, and startups to build lasting commercial infrastructure beyond Earth.
Space Station Design Cost Simulator User Guide
CSSS releases its Space Station Design Cost Simulator web app and associated user guide to serve as a STEM educational tool.
The Top Ten Challenges to the Economic Development of the Moon
To successfully develop the Moon such that it becomes an economic asset for humanity, there are a number of challenges that must be overcome. Here is a list of the top ten challenges to the economic development of the Moon.
Could We Understand an Alien Message?
The Sunday May 31, 2026 open public meeting of the Chicago Society for Space Studies (CSSS) will feature CSSS Speakers Bureau member Dale Dellutri and his presentation Could We Understand an Alien Message. Assuming for the moment that we do receive a radio message...
Beyond Flags and Footprints: Policy and Infrastructure for a Sustainable Cislunar Economy and Lunar Base Development
Humanity stands at a pivotal moment in space exploration: under the Artemis Program, the Moon is no longer merely a destination for symbolic landings, but a launching point for a sustainable cislunar economy…
Material Selection and Structural Strategies for a Multi-Rotating Cylindrical Martian Space Settlement
As the human population continues to grow, an uncertain future on Earth has given rise to the idea of space settlements, a necessary step if humanity is to move to accommodate its growth. Some of these space settlements may revolve around a body in space, presenting their challenges as opposed to traditional long-term settlements located on a planet’s surface.
2025 Space Year in Review Program Meeting
The Sunday December 14, 2025 free public meeting of the Chicago Society for Space Studies (CSSS) will feature CSSS Vice President Larry Boyle and his 2025 Space Year in Review presentation. Larry's annual summary of the key space events of the year is an annual...