The National Space Society (NSS) is an independent, educational, grassroots, non-profit organization dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring civilization. Founded as the National Space Institute (1974) and L5 Society (1975), which merged to form NSS in 1987, NSS is widely acknowledged as the preeminent citizen's voice on space. NSS has thousands of members and over 50 chapters in the United States and around the world. The society holds an annual International Space Development Conference, engages with Congress, and also publishes Ad Astra magazine, an award-winning periodical chronicling the most important developments in space.