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.
U S. astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko rocketed into Earth orbit on March 27, initiating the first “yearlong” mission to the International Space Station, where they will serve as subjects in a range of medical experiments intended to nurture plans for future human deep space exploration.
The U.S. General Accountability Office has followed an encouraging 2015 assessment of NASA’s stewardship of major spacecraft development efforts with some frank warnings about the future.
The favored “Option B” strategy outlined March 25 by NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot – robotically nabbing a boulder from the surface of a larger asteroid in deep space and steering the catch into a stable orbit around the Moon – adds complexity and an estimated $100 million to the price tag of its “Option A” rival.
