The new year is expected to be full of fascinating space missions, from rocket launches and landings to the moon, manned flights around the moon, a new spacecraft to explore Jupiter and a demonstration flight of a new supply spacecraft to the International Space Station.
Here are some of the missions we are especially looking forward to in 2024:
Moon landings
- Japanese Spacecraft Landing: The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) launched the Intelligent Lunar Explorer (SLIM) spacecraft mission on September 6. The spacecraft is now on its way to the surface of the moon, and the landing is expected on January 19 in the Shioli Crater. The SLIM mission was designed to demonstrate a precision landing of less than 100 meters from the target. If successful, the landing would mark the first ever soft landing on the moon by a Japanese spacecraft, and make Japan the fifth country to land soft on the moon after the Soviet Union, the United States, China and India.
- Private US Lander: Astrobotic Technology also plans to land on the moon next year, with a first lander launch on January 8 and a landing attempt on February 23. The Peregrine lander will carry 20 commercial and government payloads, including a small spacecraft developed by scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, and a set of smaller robots provided by the Mexican space agency.
- Another US landing: The launch window for Intuitive Machines' IM-1 mission opens in mid-February. This spacecraft aims to land near the south pole of the Moon, which requires specific lighting conditions that are only available in the area for a few days each month. In partnership with SpaceX, the IM-1 mission will be the company's first lunar landing attempt as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which will later support the space agency's Artemis program and establish a permanent human presence on the moon.
- Chinese return mission: China's Changzhou 6 mission is expected to launch in 2024, representing the Chinese's second return mission. The lander will collect material from the South Pole Aitken Basin (SPA) on the far side of the Moon. This mission follows the successful return mission of Changyao 5 in 2020.
Artemis 2
If all goes according to plan, humans will return to the moon in 2024 as well. NASA's Artemis 2 mission will send the first astronauts around the moon in nearly 50 years. Launch is planned for no later than November 2024, and the eight-day mission will fly four astronauts around the moon in the Orion spacecraft using a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
Artemis 2 will reach an altitude of 10,300 km beyond the far side of the moon. Artemis 2 is the first manned mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The Artemis 2 crew includes Commander Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
Europa Clipper mission:
NASA's Europa Clipper mission is expected to be one of the most fascinating missions in 2024. The spacecraft will be sent to explore Jupiter's moon Europa, which may contain a subsurface sea of flowing water. The scientists believe that this sea may be a potential place for extraterrestrial life.
The spacecraft will be launched on October 6, 2024 using SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. It will reach Jupiter on April 11, 2030, and will make almost 50 flybys of Europa. Its closest flybys will be only 16 miles (25 km) from the moon's surface.
The spacecraft will be equipped with a variety of scientific instruments to explore Europa. These devices will perform measurements of the lunar surface, its underground water layer, and will also check for the presence of organic substances.
A new cargo spacecraft for the space station
Sierra Space's Dream Chaser cargo spacecraft is expected to be a major player in the cargo delivery program to the International Space Station. The spaceship is disposable in the form of a shuttle, and is capable of carrying up to 3,500 kg of cargo.
Dream Chaser is expected to make its first test flight to the space station in 2024. After that, it should use ULA's Vulcan Centaur launch services to continue resupply missions to the station.
The Dream Chaser spaceship offers several advantages over other spaceships. It is a disposable spacecraft, which means it requires less maintenance and less preparation time. In addition, it can carry more cargo than other space shuttles.
If Dream Chaser's planned flights are successful, it is expected to be an important player in the future of the International Space Station.
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The year 2024 will be busier on Earth. Elon Musk promised 100 launches into space by 2023, and made 96 successful launches (and 2 more of the Starship). He did not reach his destination because of the delays in the launch of the Falcon Abyss with the space plane of the US Space Force. This year is going to be even more amazing, with a variety of other companies developing reusable rockets, and reaching their maturity.