October 4 - October 4 marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. The launch of the Russian satellite in 1957 called into question the United States' leadership in science and technology. The U.S. responded with an aggressive space exploration strategy, leading to the first moonwalk 12 years later by American astronauts.

Once rivals in a space race, the United States and former Soviet Union are now partners in the International Space Station. International cooperation in space science and human spaceflight has firmly established its roots. And 50 years after Sputnik ushered in the space age, scientists and engineers are now tasked with determining the future direction of space exploration.

Many scientists believe that research into key areas such as dark energy, gravitational waves, and black holes will lead us to the next great discoveries in physics and astronomy. NASA's Beyond Einstein program is a series of missions that will attempt to use the universe as a laboratory for testing our understanding of nature’s fundamental physical laws. The new National Research Council report NASA's Beyond Einstein Program: An Architecture for Implementation recommends that the Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) be made the first priority among the Beyond Einstein mission areas, due to its current state of technological readiness and to the scientific gains that could be attained from such a mission.

To spark scientific discussion and engage the public's interest in the advances that have been made in the last 50 years, as well as to project goals for the next 50, the Research Council's Space Studies Board is holding an international public seminar series on future of space science. Lectures will be held across the United States and in France on topics ranging from climate change to extraterrestrial life to the International Space Station.

• Space Studies Board Lecture Series
• NASA's Beyond Einstein Program: An Architecture for Implementation

• Beyond Einstein Program