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 plans a sole-source contract with Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace to extend and expand the use of the company’s Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM.
All three of NASA’s current International Space Station crewmembers are preparing for a series of spacewalks this month to service the station’s crucial robot arm.