NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy recently revealed that NASA is reconsidering its commitment to continuous human presence in low Earth orbit (LEO) after the International Space Station (ISS), potentially opting for intermittently crew-tended missions. This marks a significant departure from the 2020 National Space Policy, which emphasized maintaining an uninterrupted human presence in orbit. Having spent a year at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and time aboard the Nathaniel B Palmer Antarctic Research Vessel, I can attest to how extreme environments shape our understanding of what it means to survive,…
