Space Budgets, Policy, Missions, Benefits, International Updates

· Buzz Aldrin on Exploration and John Glenn:  Buzz Aldrin: John Glenn was a hero. We owe it to him to keep exploring space  Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin recalls his long-running association with John Glenn, the Mercury astronaut and first American to orbit the Earth, in an op-ed. Glenn died last week in his native Ohio at the age of 95. “I believe our country is ready for another great leap, another John Glenn moment in history and another presidential commitment tospace worthy of our great nation,” writes Aldrin, an advocate for human deep space exploration.

· Why Mars?:  Why Mars? To discover how life originates  Mars, with its rocky terrain and evidence for past bodies of surface water, shares more similarities with the Earth than the moon or neighboring Venus. The red planet offers the best opportunity for skilled human explorers to look for evidence of past or even present life, writes Ramses Ramirez, Cornell University planetary scientist and astrobiologist.

· Europe and Lunar Exploration:  Europe’s bold plan for a Moon base is coming together  As a global community, we’ve reached Space 4.0, according to European Space Agency Director General Jan Woerner. In Europe, that means transitioning from the International Space Station to a global village on the moon for exploration, science and new commerce.

· Russia and Lunar Exploration:  Russia’s lunar rover will help stake a claim on the Moon  Russia’s space industry will resume development of a lunar rover, machinery to further a human moon landing and construction of a lunar base in the 2030s.

· Japan and Lunar Exploration:  Japan is going to mine the moon  The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has announced plans to work with a Tokyo based firm to develop a lunar mining strategy, joining a field already of interest in the U.S., Europe, Russia and China.