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.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine expressed confidence May 4 that the agency’s quest for a nearly 12% budget increase will fare well in Congress despite a mounting deficit linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NASA is close—perhaps within days—of striking a deal with Russia for the purchase of another seat on a Soyuz launch to assure a continuing U.S. presence aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Already cost and schedule challenged across a broad range of space initiatives, NASA faces more stress on both fronts as it surges to achieve an accelerated return to the Moon’s surface with humans in 2024, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says.