To those in the industry, the idea of human settlement of space is not new. The vision of space settlement has been with us since early in the 20th century, and more concrete plans since the 1970s. Since 2020, people have been continuously living and working on board the International Space Station. The technology required to extend human habitation into the solar system is becoming more readily available with companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin making major strides to decrease launch costs and increase lifting capabilities, making way for engineers to design space habitats, colonies, and reliable long-term life support systems.
This movement requires support from grassroots organizations like the National Space Society that bring these topics to the forefront worldwide. The NSS was born out of a merger between the L5 Society and the National Space Institute, brokered in part by Mark Hopkins, Chair of the NSS Executive Committee Emeritus and former Rand Corporation economist. Extensively involved with grassroots support for the space program, he coined the term “space movement,” commonly used today. Hopkins played a significant role in the successful effort to defeat the Moon Treaty, a piece of legislation that would have activities on the Moon or other celestial bodies conform to international law and greatly limit potential opportunities for private enterprise (which has been instrumental in getting people back into space).