Beginning more than a hundred years ago, science fiction writers, early filmmakers, and, later, serious scientists explored the possibilities of human beings expanding beyond Earth to dwell in the Solar System. Whether on the Moon, on Mars, in hollowed-out asteroids, or in constructed space stations, the dream of our species breaking free from this wet rock on which we evolved has been a source of fascination. We're getting closer now to having the technological capability to make the attempt. Some would argue, in fact, that we could have had thriving colonies on the Moon for decades now, had the US and the USSR not cut back on their space programs in the 1970s. Join discussion...

Virgin Galactic has released the final design of the launch system that will take fare-paying passengers into space. It is based on the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne concept - a rocket ship that is lifted initially by a carrier plane before blasting skywards. The Virgin system is essentially a refinement, but has been increased in size to take eight people at a time on a sub-orbital trip, starting in 2010. Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson said the space business had huge potential. Join discussion...

We all would like some good news about the future. Here is some. One of the most impressive people I have met is Elon Musk, whom I have seen at Future In Review conferences. He was founder of PayPal as well as Zip2 Corporation, and after selling them poured his efforts and money into two primary endeavors, the all-electric car company Tesla Motors, and a private space launch company, SpaceX. When I heard Elon a couple of years ago as SpaceX was nearing its test flights, he sounded to me like my mentor as a futurist and speaker, Ed Lindaman, who had been director of program planning for Apollo. In other words, Elon sounded like a space guy as he talked enthusiastically and confidently about how his company would achieve the first private launches into orbit, and eventually would lead the way to Mars. Here is the good news, amazing news really. Late last month, SpaceX successfully launched the first private, liquid-fuel rocket into earth orbit. It carried a dummy payload, and demonstrated the tremendous progress that SpaceX has made in a few short years. You can watch the inspiring video of the launch here. Join discussion...

The LSST, or the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope is a large survey telescope being constructed in northern Chile. When operational in 2015, it will be the widest, fastest, deepest eye of the new digital age, providing timelapse digital imaging across the entire night sky every three days, mapping the structure of our dynamic universe in three dimensions and exploring the nature of dark matter and dark energy. LSST hit a major milestone in its construction when the primary mirror blank was recently created. Project astronomers say the single-piece primary and tertiary mirror blank cast for the LSST is "perfect." Join discussion...

The future of the human race - part 2 Join discussion...

The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement. It was first proposed in 1964 by the Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev. The scale has three designated categories called Type I, II, and III. These are based on the amount of usable energy a civilization has at its disposal, and the degree of space colonization. In general terms, a Type I civilization has achieved mastery of the resources of its home planet, Type II of its solar system, and Type III of its galaxy.[1] Join discussion...