Alexander William Salter and Peter T. Leeson (George Mason): Celestial Anarchy. Four civilian astronauts will leave Earth to become the first inhabitants of Mars — is it a hoax, a suicide mission, or a chance to become legend? As Peter Guest finds out, it might be all three. Mars One is a crowdfunding project that is also under private sponsorship, aiming at starting a human colony on planet Mars — Clare Tsimpourla on the potential human rights violations and legal implications. Is the relationship between NASA and private space about to sour? From TNR, who owns the Moon? We're just going to have to get up there and find out. The Moon belongs to no one, but what about its artifacts? Experts call on spacefaring nations to protect lunar landing sites, not to mention Neil Armstrong’s footprints. Robert Gonzalez on 11 things you probably didn't know about human space exploration. Planetology comes of age: Those who study planets orbiting other stars now have plenty of data to play with. Curtis Brainard on the archaeology of the stars. From The Appendix, does outer space have a history? Benjamin Breen wonders. From The Space Review, Roger Handberg on the arrival of the “new era” in US space policy; and Jeff Foust reviews Alien Universe: Extraterrestrial Life in Our Minds and in the Cosmos by Don Lincoln; reviews An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield (and more); and reviews books on astrobiology. Caleb Scharf on how the cold war created astrobiology. George Dvorsky on a new scientific model that defines alien intelligence. An article on the challenge of comprehending E.T.'s IQ. William Herkewitz on how the search for aliens is just getting started. NASA wants to keep the International Space Station going until 2024 — is that a good idea? (and more).
