By- Naiteek Bhatt
In 2023, space exploration reached new heights, and the new year,2024, promises to be just as exciting.
Space In 2024
NASA Plans to launch Artemis 2 in November 2024. It will send four astronauts around the Moon on a ten-day lunar flyby.
Artemis 2
NASA will send several landers to the Moon in 2024, including VIPER(a soil sample prospector), PRIME-1 (to perform chemical analysis of ice samples), and Blue Ghost Mission 1 (to analyze the heat flow of the lunar interior). China also plans to launch Chang'e 6 a robotic lunar exploration mission.
More Robots On Earth's Moon
Japan will send Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) in 2024 to Phobos, the largest moon orbiting Mars. Moreover, NASA will launch the Europa Clipper in October will orbit Jupiter and perform a series of flybys of Europa, one of the planet's 90 moons.
Other Moons in the Solar System
In October 2024, ESA's Hera will launch towards two asteroids called Didymos and Dimorphous. Hera's mission follows NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which affected Dimorphous and Changed its orbit in 2022.
Asteroid Analysis
Sierra Space, an aerospace company, will launch Dream Chaser, a reusable spaceplane that launches on the back of a rocket.
Commercial Space Flights
ISRO's success with chandrayaan 3 and Aditya L-1 has set the stage for another exciting year. India has planned many space missions, including Gaganyaan 1, Mangalyaan-2 and Shukrayaan-1.
Indian Space Odyssey