Letter from the Editor? The Space Issue

In a series of articles from the mid 1960s into the early ’70s, National Geographic covered the findings, the adventures, and the significance of NASA’s Apollo missions to the moon. As Editor Gilbert M. Grosvenor wrote in our September 1973 issue, the moon was the “first port of call on man’s greatest voyage of discovery.” He also noted that the Apollo program’s value went far beyond what we were learning about space: Apollo sparked hope that we could, with a similar commitment, find “an answer to the energy crisis, the environmental crisis, and to every other major problem of humanity.” Half a century later, we’re in a new era of exploration and discovery in space while facing acute problems on our own planet. And, perhaps fittingly, we are once again setting our sights on the moon. In this issue, we share the first installment from our ongoing partnership with NASA to document the Artemis missions that will land people—women as well as men—on the moon for the first time since Apollo. We also have terrific stories about how the James Webb Space Telescope is shaping our knowledge of the universe , how Earth’s extreme environments hold clues to possible life on Jupiter’s and Saturn’s moons, and much more. Technology continues to advance our ability to understand the cosmos. Just as in Apollo’s day, though, there are some who question spending time and money on that instead of on our planet’s urgent problems. But, like my predecessor, I appreciate what bold demonstrations of human ingenuity can do for our collective spirit. Personally, I’m not hoping we find a new planetary home somewhere out there. I’m hoping that space exploration serves to reinforce how special Earth is and reminds us that, when we put our minds to it, we can beat the odds. We hope you enjoy the issue.

- Nathan Lump, Editor in Chief, National Geographic

Read the features from National Geographic’s Space Issue here: ?

Why go back to the moon? NASA’s Artemis program has even bigger ambitions

The world’s most powerful telescope is rewriting the story of space and time

NASA is preparing to explore alien worlds—by investigating Earth’s dark corners

How NASA plans to send humans farther into space than ever before

How do you create a telescope unlike anything we’ve had before? These photos show us.

It’s the golden age of spaceflight. Here’s where you can see a launch.