Henry Hudson explored for trade. Neil Armstrong explored for war. The expanded horizons that they handed down to humanity — New York and the moon, respectively — were essentially byproducts. With both missions celebrating milestones this year — one its 400th anniversary, the other its 40th — we dedicate this issue to exploration of every stripe, from outside the atmosphere to beyond the cul-de-sac.

Photojournalist JB Reed explores the latter variety, returning to his childhood stomping grounds to capture young people making use of the scruffy plot of undeveloped land outside his Atlanta suburb that he and his friends once called The Desert.

Alfred Menchaca, the father of Last Exit co-editor Paul Menchaca, reflects on his more than 30 years working at NASA and the fuzzy future of space travel.

Bryan Joiner, a Last Exit contributing editor, finally asks his mother just what it was that made her up and move from Massachusetts to a small town in Alaska in 2005.

Historian James S. Kaplan looks at the curiously obscure legacy of Henry Hudson, who was forced out of his ship and left to die by his mutinous crew just a year after discovering New York Harbor.

Last Exit’s art critic, Cynthia Daignault, reviews Black Acid Co-op by Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe at Deitch Projects, and recommends a pairing with Andy Warhol’s classic Chelsea Girls, showing this weekend at Anthology Film Archives.

And Anne Dailey, Last Exit>’s flavor columnist, goes on the road to rural Maine to look at what a place’s farmers, farm stands and traditional recipes says about its character.

— The Editors