Dr. Nate Dailey · Space strategy and architecture

Films, scenarios, and research on possible futures for NASA and the Moon

I write evidence-based scenarios of how space programs could develop, and turn them into films, six-wall immersive rooms, and papers for decision makers.

View the works Publications

Power hardware at the south pole Moon base, from the NASA leadership film.

Featured work

Shackleton Base Alpha under a low Sun at the lunar south pole Watch · 6:17

Film · 2026

A six-minute film that starts with Apollo 11 and Artemis II, shows a Moon base at the lunar south pole built in three phases, and sets out the choices NASA would face.

Watch and read more

Works

All 14 works
  1. No. 01 A six-minute film for NASA leadership on building a south pole Moon base Film · 6:17
  2. No. 02 A three-minute version of the lunar program film made for NASA Film · 3:00
  3. No. 03 A sixteen-minute film on a possible lunar program from 2036 to 2046 Film · 16:19
  4. No. 04 Still images of a south pole Moon base, its reactor, and its crews Image series
  5. No. 05 Starship HLS and Blue Moon Mark 2 lunar missions compared step by step Immersive room comparison · 3:22
  6. No. 06 A film for a six-wall immersive room showing a Moon base built in three phases Immersive room film · 4:07
  7. No. 07 A technician catches mismatched spacecraft connectors and teaches colleagues the check Film · 2:17
  8. No. 08 A rover team finds a reachable south pole site for a water measurement Film · 2:21

Tools

All 11 tools

How the work is made

01

Gather the evidence

Every scenario is grounded in sources: NASA decadal surveys, program documents, agency architecture, published research, and the record of what similar programs have cost and how long they took.

02

Model the scenario

An architecture model sets out what is built, when, and what it changes. Measures of effectiveness put numbers on the result, so one future can be compared with the alternatives.

03

Make the film or images

The scenario becomes a film, a six-wall immersive room, or a set of still images, so a leadership team can see the result before it makes a decision.

Selected publications

All 77 publications

Research program

Collegium, a research program where AI agents write and defend dissertations on space

I designed Collegium to test whether AI research agents, held to a doctoral standard, can produce studies that a space leader could rely on. Every study is examined, and every citation is checked against its source.

876Research papers and monographs produced in the program, in six topic areas
48Dissertations defended and ratified in 2026
12Full-length dissertations of 61,000 to 67,000 words
About the research program

About

Dr. Nate Dailey

I am a space strategist with thirty-five years across national security, civil, and commercial space. I was principal author of MITRE's International Space Strategy, co-chair the International Astronautical Federation's committee on space traffic management, and was elected to the International Academy of Astronautics in 2026.

Full biography
Portrait of Dr. Nate Dailey in a dark suit and striped tie
  • Chief Strategist, Space Program Development and IntegrationThe MITRE Corporation, 2017 to present
  • Associate Member, Section 4, Social SciencesInternational Academy of Astronautics, elected 2026
  • Co-Chair, Technical Committee 26, Space Traffic ManagementInternational Astronautical Federation
  • Fellow (FRAeS)Royal Aeronautical Society
  • International Regional Vice PresidentSpace Force Association