Hello listeners, how are you? This is Kim Heung-kwang, who hosted the event. Today, we will continue to tell you about space exploration. The topic is the five most anticipated space exploration challenges in 2024.
2023 was an important year for space exploration. However, 2024 is expected to be just as exciting a year for space exploration as last year. Looking at the large tasks alone, truly amazing space exploration plans will be underway in the second half of this year, such as the launch of the Mars Moon Rover in September, the Europa Clipper and Hera Rover in October, and Artemis 2 and Viper in November. Then, I will tell you in turn.
The United States plans to launch the Europa Clipper to explore Europa, one of Jupiter’s largest moons. Europa is slightly smaller than Earth’s moon and has a surface made of ice. It is said that there is a high possibility that there is sea water under the ice shell.
Scientists expect there to be more than twice as much water as all of Earth’s oceans combined. Scientists have already sent a space probe to Jupiter to conduct basic exploration, and starting this year, they will begin exploration of the satellites orbiting Jupiter.
Europa is one of Jupiter’s moons. Through this exploration, we will investigate whether Europa’s ocean is a suitable habitat for extraterrestrial life. The probe plans to fly by Europa about 50 times to study Europa’s ice shell, surface geology, and ocean floor.
If all goes as planned, the spacecraft exploring Jupiter’s moon Europa will launch between October 10 and 21. The probe Clipper will be launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, an American private space rocket, and is scheduled to arrive in the Jupiter system in 2030.
The United States is planning to send people to the moon again 50 years after it flew three people to the moon on Apollo 17 in 1972. The Artemis program also includes plans to prepare humans for long-term or sustained stays in space and ultimately send people to Mars.
Artemis 2 is the first stage of this plan, in which a spacecraft carrying four astronauts will fly to lunar orbit for 10 days and return. Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch in November, but it may be delayed until 2025 depending on whether all necessary equipment, including space suits and oxygen equipment, is ready.
Viper is a small robot that will be used to explore the lunar south pole. Originally scheduled for launch in 2023, NASA continues to test the lander system developed by private company Astrobotic.
The robotic probe is designed to search for volatiles, molecules that evaporate easily like water and carbon dioxide at lunar temperatures. The VIPER robot will explore the moon’s hot daytime area, which reaches 107 degrees Celsius, and the moon’s harsh shadow area, which reaches -240 degrees Celsius, relying on batteries, heat pipes and electric heaters for 100 days. VIPER’s launch and landing on the lunar surface is scheduled for November 2024 this year.
In 2024, Earth’s satellite, the Moon, will soon welcome visitors not only large and small robots and astronauts, but also, surprisingly, Mars’ satellites, Phobos and Deimos. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will conduct an important test called the Mars Lunar Exploration (MMX), aiming for launch around September 2024.
The probe MMX will conduct scientific work observing Phobos and Deimos around Mars for three years. MMX is also scheduled to land on the surface of Phobos, collect samples, and then return to Earth.
Hera is a spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) to explore the asteroid system Didymos-Dimo, which is hurtling toward Earth. This is an asteroid that the American asteroid exploration spacecraft DART has already visited in 2022.
But Dart didn’t just visit the asteroids, he crashed into one of them to test a planetary defense technology called ‘kinetic collision’.
This impact test could be useful in redirecting asteroids when they are likely to collide with Earth. Hera will launch in October and arrive at the asteroids Didymos and Dymophos in late 2026 to study the asteroids’ physical properties.
Through today’s broadcast, we learned about the greatness of space exploration and the dedication to humanity that advanced countries, including the United States, are pursuing to protect the Earth, scientifically reveal the universe we live in, and utilize it for human civilization. Well, that concludes today’s broadcast.
So far, this has been Kim Heung-kwang in Seoul.
Editor Jinseo Lee, Web Manager Kyeongha Lee
