The 41st Space Symposium has concluded after drawing more than 300 exhibitors and an overall attendance of 11,000 during its six days at The Broadmoor.

Put on by the Space Foundation, a nonprofit space advocacy group headquartered in Colorado Springs, the annual Symposium is the world’s largest gathering of commercial, military and governmental figures in space technology.

This year, with the successful conclusion of the Artemis II mission, there was a major focus on continuing the momentum NASA built with its latest moonshot.

Exhibits included lunar rovers, rocket engines and a full-sized mockup of a commercial space station.

Here are five takeaways.

1. Colorado continues to attract aerospace, defense and manufacturing jobs. Two companies announced Colorado expansions during the Symposium. One, Ohio-based SelectTech, chose El Paso County. The 170-person company will seek to add at least 150 net jobs at an average annual wage of $85,927, or 126% of the countywide average annual wage. Also at the Symposium, Danish company Multicut announced its intention to expand into Loveland. It plans to bring 82 jobs to Larimer County at above-average wages.
2. Even as Space Command departs Colorado Springs for Huntsville, Ala., an increase in the Space Force’s overall budget bodes well for the city and state. The Space Force and Space Command are different, with Space Force being an independent military branch while Space Command is a joint combat command dealing with space. The Space Force’s budget may double in the next federal fiscal year. This bodes well for Colorado Springs, according to retired Gen. John Hyten, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 
3. NASA attended the Space Symposium in force this year. The event was headlined by Administrator Jared Isaacman, who delivered opening remarks on Monday night and discussed many of the next steps of the Artemis program on Tuesday. But others, including Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya and the Science Mission Directorate’s Deputy Administrator Nicola Fox, also spoke. Buoyed by the success of the Artemis II mission, the push to land people on the moon and stay there was evident this year. 
4. Denver-area labs stressed the importance of further studying space weather and the physics of the sun. Space weather can impact power grids, satellite communications, GPS systems and radio, many of which are critical aspects of daily life. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration want to amp up space weather research to prepare local forecast offices better and keep astronauts and other assets in space safe. 
5. There were plenty of cool exhibits, but many of the technologies needed for a permanent human presence on the moon took center stage. Whether it was nuclear propulsion on display at L3Harris’ booth or a moon rover mockup at Astrolab, getting to the moon — and maybe eventually Mars — was absolutely a focus.