Mark is based in Houston, where he has written on aerospace for more than 25 years. While at the Houston Chronicle, he was recognized by the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation in 2006 for his professional contributions to the public understanding of America's space program through news reporting. He has written on U. S. space policy as well as NASA's human and space science initiatives.
Mark was recognized by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors and Headliners Foundation as well as the Chronicle in 2004 for news coverage of the shuttle Columbia tragedy and its aftermath.
He is a graduate of the University of Kansas and holds a Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Kansas State University.
Achieving a return to the Moon’s surface with human explorers by 2024 tops a list of seven signature management and performance challenges that NASA faces over the coming decade, an assessment from the agency’s inspector general says.
The $3.84 billion lunar-orbiting, human-tended Gateway that NASA envisions as part of a long-term strategy to establish a sustained human presence at the Moon is unlikely to be in place in time to support the Trump administration’s goal of returning astronauts to the lunar surface in 2024, an audit by the agency’s inspector general says.
The joint NASA/European Space Agency mission to return samples from Mars’ surface faces a likely cost increase and two-year launch delay to address the challenges needed to achieve a high probability of success, according to an unusual, early independent review of the complex effort.
