Exploring the Voids

Intergalactic Cooperation // Coming aboard the International Space Station, astronauts bring new skills and valuable intel about space back to Earth. Collaborating with SpaceX, NASA plans to bring more information, among other things, for mankind. (Photo courtesy of Creative Commons). 

Created in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has dared to explore the cosmos through satellites, telescopes, and photographs. However, this exploration depends on the collaboration of others, including countries and other privately-owned aeronautics companies for humans to traverse the universe. 

The International Space Station (ISS) is the biggest collaborative aeronautics project ever. Since 2000, hundreds of astronauts have been aboard the station for research to send back to Earth. The ISS has been operating for over a century successfully and is one of humanity’s largest aeronautic accomplishments. Over 15 countries initially worked together, such as NASA and Roscosmos, Russia’s space administration, among others, to build the space station, which started in 1998 and finished in 2011.  What many do not know is that the countries working together for this project are still growing in number, as the ISS is constantly being updated and fixed even today. 

Initially founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) has grown to be a multibillion–dollar aerospace company. SpaceX is known for many of its projects, including its ambitious goal to start a human colony on Mars, and its numerous collaborations with NASA. These include projects such as Artemis, a program used to explore deep space through the moon and Dragon, a cargo and crew transport program for the ISS. 

On February 15th, 2026, SpaceX and NASA, as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 Mission, will send four crew members aboard the ISS for a long expedition intended to explore space and the cosmos with information unable to be achieved anywhere else. Astronauts Jessica Muir and Jack Hathaway from NASA will be commander and pilot respectively. Accompanying them is Roscosmos astronaut, Andrey Fedyaev, and European Space Agency Cosmonaut, Sophie Adenot. These brave cadets will join the members currently aboard the space station who are a part of expedition 74. 

The research currently conducted on the ISS, though varied in experiments, is also planned to help with NASA’s Artemis missions, potentially starting February 6th 2026. The new Artemis II is planned to have a 10–day–flight with four crew members to bring forth a long-term presence on the moon. The goal is for humanity to touch Martian soil for the first time and to make the moon a bridge to Mars. 

2026 is one of the most defining years for space exploration since the Apollo era. With ongoing research being done on the ISS to benefit mankind, humans stepping foot on the moon’s soil for the first time in over 50 years and towards a new planet entirely. It paints a picture that highlights the past but also sparks curiosity for the future to come.