Stories by Christopher Cokinos

Christopher Cokinos is a writer of nonfiction on nature and the environment. His latest book is Still as Bright: An Illuminating History of the Moon, from Antiquity to Tomorrow (Pegasus Books, 2024).

Screengrab from a short animation of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, roaming the surface of the moon.

Space ExplorationApril 8, 2026

Is this the year the U.S. finally lands a robotic rover on the moon?

A hidden milestone lurks in the U.S.’s Artemis-focused lunar ambitions—the nation’s first-ever successful robotic moon rover

Christopher Cokinos

Street-level view of the building that houses NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which also features a diner on the ground floor.

Planetary ScienceMay 29, 2025

Why Is NASA Shuttering This Iconic Institute in New York City?

Since 1966 NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies has been at the forefront of Earth and planetary science from its location in upper Manhattan. Now a Trump administration directive is ejecting its scientists to parts unknown

Christopher Cokinos

CultureMarch 1, 2020

Poem: We Need the Sky

Science in meter and verse

Christopher Cokinos