NYC 25×25 is a plan proposed by Transportation Alternatives, which acts to transform a quarter of the current urban space available to cars: an area equivalent to thirteen Central Parks to be taken away from traffic.

Could this happen today?

This document laid the foundation for modern space exploration and research. It is also a testament to a fading world order where nations worked together in space toward shared scientific goals despite their political differences.

Signed by President Richard Nixon and Premier Alexie Kosygin in the U.S.S.R on May 24, 1972, the agreement led to the first international crewed space mission, 1975’s Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

John Logsdon, an expert in space policy and professor emeritus at George Washington University, explains that Nixon’s actions were informed by the ideas of his then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had grand ideas for the future of international relations and, together with Nixon, he believed an agreement toward mutual assistance between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. would ultimately help the U.S. hold greater influence over world politics.

NASA lists objectives to get to Mars by 2040 while SpaceX states it will beat that date by a decade.

NASA releases a draft of objectives needed to achieve a human presence on the Moon and Mars by 2040. SpaceX says it will get there by 2030.

Two commercial enterprises have been awarded contracts by the DoD to develop the next generation of nuclear propulsion in space.

For the first time ever, scientists have grown plants in soil samples collected from the Moon fifty years ago, a feat that could have implications not only for prolonged space exploration, but for plants trying to thrive in harsh conditions on our planet.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.