6 Feb 2026 by ILOA Hawai’i
It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that the dedicated Space Age Publishing Company Editor and International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) Founding Director, Steve Durst, passed in early February 2026.
Steve Durst was an exemplary leader on the world stage of science, of astronomy and space exploration. He was an international diplomat and a visionary who formed ILOA, based in Hawai’i USA (2007), and its ILOA Galaxy Forum program (2008) to advance 21st Century Education and see Humans on the Moon within the decade – the first giant step toward the Galaxy / Stars. He was Publisher and Editor at Space Age Publishing Company, since 1976, and operated its Hawai’i and California offices.
Steve published Space Calendar and Lunar Enterprise Daily, and supported pioneering enterprises such as ILOA, Stanford on the Moon, and Ad Astra Kansas initiatives, while pursuing a business plan consistent with establishing a third office on the Moon.
He received a BA (1965) in European History and an MA (1966) in American History from Stanford University in California, and was self-taught in Asia / China history and culture.
Under his leadership and participation with multiple nations and space organizations, astronomy instruments were developed by ILOA for previous and future lunar landing missions, including the ILO-X, ILO-C and ILO-1 missions.
His efforts substantially contributed to the egalitarian advancement of scientific knowledge and the expansion of humankind onto the space frontier, of our promising future as a multi-world civilization.
His impact and influence on our space community will be missed and not forgotten. Those that knew Steve know that he always greeted and bid farewell with the Hawaiian word “Aloha”, a word which means both Hello and Goodbye, and expresses the belief that life is sacred and interconnected.
** Much Aloha and Ad Astra Steve, Galactically **