Dear Readers,

Although the 350,000+ mile distance separates a planetary Earth and its Moon, the two terrestrial bodies appear closing in on each other ideologically as translunar deliveries and lunar mining architectures organize into a visionary New Lunar Economy. A few successful lunar landings completed out of many attempts merely drive reliability costs even higher than economics do. A common saying is that NASA pays 90% of the cost for the last 5% of reliability. In this July issue, the Editor selected technical papers that describe a commercial environment actively re-organizing individual startups into cooperative partnerships for an enhanced technological, performative competency shared. At the same time, NASA’s Space Act Agreements with startups are being supplemented with prize competitions to incentivize startups for break-through developments and the accomplishment of feats thought to be “impossible.” Hopefully, readers will appreciate the vision prize winners have in their architectural designs of lunar icy regolith mining for lunar water extraction as well as a consequential outcome that excavation may afford in microbial survival.

Sincerely,
Ronald H. Freeman, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
July 1, 2025