- Numerous lunar missions are planned, including to the hidden face of our natural satellite.
- Missions to Venus, Mercury and the asteroid Didymos are in the pipeline.
- Three Intuitive Machines Missions are lined up for next year.
The year 2024 will be dominated by a series of lunar missions culminating in the Artemis 2 mission. The objective will be to send a crewed Orion capsule around the Moon. The four astronauts on board will then return to Earth, preparing for the return of humans to the lunar soil as part of the Artemis 3 mission. But the space activity will not stop there; it will be dense next year.
Three Intuitive Machines Missions are lined up for next year. Mainly near the lunar south pole to carry instruments or try to demonstrate the possibility of using local resources. A third mission will conduct scientific investigations while testing advanced technologies for future lunar exploration. Peregrine 1, a lander developed by the company Astrobotic, has among its various payloads the analysis of the composition of the lunar regolith. Astrobotic is also planning a second trip to the Moon to identify the presence of water ice.
The Chinese want the first lunar samples from the dark side of the moon
The Chinese have a historic goal of collecting the first lunar samples from the dark side of the Moon. A crewed Boeing CST-Starliner capsule will fly to the International Space Station in April, and we’ll also witness the first launch of Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket, as well as Blue Origin’s attempt to launch its New Glenn rocket in August.
In the field of planetary exploration, missions to Venus and Mercury will provide unique opportunities to study these planets. Other promising projects are expected to materialize, including the European Space Agency’s Hera aa mission to the asteroid Didymos.
In low Earth orbit, Axiom Space’s Axiom 3 mission will carry the first European crew to the ISS, illustrating the growing collaboration between private companies and government agencies in space exploration, as SpaceX continues to put its Starlink satellites into orbit and to develop the Starship mega-missile.
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2023-12-14 19:23:23
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