Editor's note: The following articles are presented here in their final form before having been edited to meet size constraints of the printed issue. Several of the articles from this issue are also online at the National Space Society website in their final, printed form.

Overview, by Keith Cowing Ad Astra Guest Editor

Eulogy for Joseph Zelibor, by Rita Collwell, Director, National Science Foundation

Toilets of the Gods or The Colon-ization of Space, by Sir Arthur C. Clarke

Astrobiology 101:Exploring the Living Universe, by Mitchell K. Hobish and Keith Cowing

Ex astra: Life from the Stars:Organic chemistry amidst the stars, by Michael Meyer

It's dead Jim. But was it ever alive? The ALH84001 announcement at T+2 years: How well does this piece of Mars meet accepted criteria for evidence of ancient life?, by Everett K. Gibson, Jr., David S. McKay, Kathie Thomas-Keprta, Frances Westall, and Christopher A. Romanek

The Search for Extremophiles on Earth and Beyond: What is extreme here may be just business-as-usual elsewhere, by Penelope Boston

Bring Em Back Alive-- Or At Least Carefully: Planetary Protection Provisions for Sample Return Missions, by Margaret S. Race and John D. Rummel

Earth Is a Planet, Too! Inhabited Worlds: It takes one to know one, by Mitchell K. Hobish

Robots Vs Humans in space: BOTH will be required, by Gregory Schmidt and Michael Hawes