I discuss the current state of low-energy nuclear theory and the scientific questions that will be addressed over the next ten years as we move to the description of increasingly unstable nuclei. Much of our understanding of unstable nuclei will directly benefitastrophysics, particularly in the areas ofsupernova-core deleptonization, neutrino interactions with nuclei instellar environments, the nuclear equation of state at high temperaturesand densities, and nucleosynthesis. I will discuss the current statusof our understanding of one of these overlaps, namely electroncapture on nuclei. I will thenturn to a description of coupled-cluster theory, which is a technique of solving the nuclear many-body problem thatmay be useful for calculating selected nuclear propertiesrelevant to astrophysics.