Neil deGrasse Tyson, the astrophysicist best known now as host of Fox's Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, hosts an annual debate at the Hayden Planetarium in the memory of the prolific science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, who died in 1992.
This year, the topic under discussion was the commercialization of space, specifically: How much risk should businesses assume in space exploration? How can space businesses mitigate risk? How big are the potential opportunities of extraterrestrial resource mining, products, and real estate? What role does government play in the new paradigm of commercial space exploration?
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Watch the entire debate below. --John Aziz
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Crossword: August 27, 2025The Week's daily crossword
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August 27 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include a KKK rebrand, Donald Trump vs. Gavin Newsom, and Ghislaine Maxwell as the new Celebrity Apprentice
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The mission to demine UkraineThe Explainer An estimated quarter of the nation – an area the size of England – is contaminated with landmines and unexploded shells from the war
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Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
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Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
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Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
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'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet underseaSpeed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
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New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 yearsSpeed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
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Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study findsSpeed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
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Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves babyspeed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
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Sea lion proves animals can keep a beatspeed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
