The first issue of The Futurist included predictions of manned military bases in space and permanent lunar colonies. But the country lost interest in the moon after the Apollo landings. Now, with construction set to begin on a manned space station, Halal is forecasting that humans will visit Mars by 2037. Pirages is concerned, however, about the future of futurists themselves. As a member of the World Future Society since its early days, he points out that most of the society's directors are of retirement age.
Few universities have programs specifically designed to develop new futurists.
Pirages heads a new program in College Park that provides graduate-level research opportunities looking at future environmental, demographic and technological trends.