ARTICLES & WHITE PAPERS
The Blog
Editorial articles, guest analysis, and downloadable white papers — organized by tier. We don't report the news. We explain the journey.
NASA Selects Blue Origin as Mars Telecommunications Network Provider
NASA awarded Blue Origin a $700M contract to build the Mars Telecommunications Network — a next-generation orbital relay for Mars missions, expected operational by 2030.
By The Editorial Team · September 1, 2026
NASA Welcomes Türkiye as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory
Türkiye became the 71st nation to sign the Artemis Accords in an Aug. 31 ceremony at NASA Headquarters, formalizing its role in lunar exploration cooperation ahead of Moon Base development.
By The Editorial Team · August 31, 2026
NASA Provides Updates on Moon Base Cargo Landers, Tech Demonstrations
NASA updates progress on four commercial CLPS lunar landers — Blue Origin, Firefly, Intuitive Machines, and Voyager — plus a Northrop Grumman tech demo, feeding Moon Base Phase I.
By The Editorial Team · August 4, 2026
NASA Delivers Navigation System for Commercial Lunar Relay
NASA delivered its compact NavCube3-mini GNSS navigation payload to Intuitive Machines for Altus-1, the first satellite in a planned commercial lunar relay network.
By The Editorial Team · August 3, 2026
NASA Announces New Spacecraft Technology Demonstration Mission at Moon
NASA awarded Advanced Space a contract for CAPSTONE 02, a two-spacecraft mission launching in 2027 to demonstrate cislunar rendezvous, autonomous navigation, and communications.
By The Editorial Team · July 24, 2026
NASA: Assessments of Major Projects
GAO's 18th annual assessment finds most of NASA's 36 major projects on track, but flags Artemis architecture changes and a 22% civil servant workforce cut as key risks.
By The Editorial Team · July 23, 2026
Welcome to MarsColonization.com
What this site is, how the Ten Tiers work, and how the Top 100 lists are decided.
By The Editorial Team · July 23, 2026
Establishing Crew Exposure Limits of Martian Dust
A NASA working group set an initial Permissible Exposure Limit for Martian dust: 0.1 mg/m3 over a 24-hour time-weighted average for missions up to 30 days.
By The Editorial Team · July 21, 2026
Establishing a VTE Risk Score for Astronauts Algorithm
NASA's OCHMO working group developed a VTE Risk Score for Astronauts Algorithm to guide anticoagulation prophylaxis decisions based on in-flight ultrasound and other risk factors.
By The Editorial Team · July 17, 2026
5 Things to Know About NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications
NASA's Psyche-riding Deep Space Optical Communications experiment will test laser communications from as far as Mars, offering 10-100x the data capacity of current radio systems.
By The Editorial Team · October 10, 2023
NASA, ICON Advance Lunar Construction Technology for Moon Missions
NASA awarded ICON a $57.2M SBIR Phase III contract to develop 3D-printed construction technology — landing pads, habitats, and roads — for the Moon and Mars under the MMPACT project.
By The Editorial Team · November 29, 2022