The Augustine Panel today made their 5 recommendations to the Obama administration. You can read about them here: http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0909/09augustine/ if your interested. One option has NASA opening up competition to all US aerospace companies for delivery systems up to low-Earth orbit and to resupply the ISS. A quote: "Commercial services to deliver crew to low-Earth orbit are within reach," the panel wrote. "While this presents some risk, it could provide an earlier capability at lower initial and lifecycle costs than government could achieve. A new competition with adequate incentives should be open to all U.S. aerospace companies. This would allow NASA to focus on more challenging roles, including human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, based on the continued development of the current or modified Orion spacecraft." Regardless of what they decide, from deorbiting the ISS in 2015, extending it to 2020, making low earth orbit opened up to competition and focusing on returning to the moon with the ultimate goal being: "The panel stressed that Mars remains the "ultimate destination" for human exploration of the inner solar system. "But it is not the best first destination." " On a different note the semi-annual auction for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation is open. You can view what they are having people bid on here: http://www.astronautscholarship.org/2009bsemi_auction.pl All proceeds go directly to support college scholarships for outstanding science and engineering students through the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's program. There are some interesting items . . .