Space exploration is an engaging field that offers constantly novel discoveries that can raise our knowledge of the cosmos. As we approach 2024 many missions are lined up to solve the mysteries of the solar system and beyond.
Based on the government and private sectors, the upcoming year will play a decisive role in future explorations that will change the perception of planetary science.
The Artemis II Mission: Returning To The Moon
Artemis II mission is planned in late 2024 and will be a significant one for NASA to launch humans to the Moon in a better way. These will be four crewed astronauts who will be orbiting the lunar body for ten days, and this will evaluate the readiness of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft.
Mapping Water Ice: The Lunar Trailblazer Mission
The Lunar Trailblazer mission is one of the experiment test flights that was awarded to the Pitcrew by NASA as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and its goal is to identify any deposits of water ice on the surface of the Moon. This mission will employ a variety of complex instruments that are deployed for detecting and characterizing water frost deposits, especially at the south pole of the Moon.
VIPER: Searching For Resources On The Moon
NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is scheduled to be deployed at the end of 2024. This little golf cart-like robotic vehicle will navigate the Moon’s south pole to study soil and look for water and other necessary resources for astronauts.
Japan’s MMX Mission
Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission planned for September 2024 aims at getting familiar with Martian moons Phobos and Deimos by landing on Phobos and taking samples which will then be brought back to Earth. This mission will aid the scientists in establishing the formation of these moons and their interaction with Mars.
The Europa Clipper Mission
NASA’s Europa Clipper mission which is to be launched in October 2024 targets to explore Europa, the third largest moon of Jupiter, that scientists think has a subsurface ocean. The mission will make about 50 fly-bys of Europa for the possibility of life there.
ESA’s Hera Mission
The station will focus on the European Space Agency’s Hera mission, which should be launched at the end of 2024 to explore the Didymos binary asteroid system and its satellite Dimorphos. From these asteroids, Hera will enhance the global fight against asteroid threats to planet Earth.
Advancements In Space Technology: Blue Origin’s New Glenn
The New Glenn rocket by Blue Origin will be the first flight in late 2024. This reusable rocket will have a service history that will help NASA accomplish its scientific goals of examining the magnetosphere of Mars.
New Glenn is Blue Origin’s reusable rocket and is expected to be launched in December 2024. This reusable launch vehicle will enable NASA’s scientific investigation of Mars’ magnetosphere, extending the knowledge of the Martian conditions.
Insights From The Parker Solar Probe
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is going to achieve the closest solar revolution by December in the year 2024. This mission will enable the collection of important information about the Sun’s solar wind and atmosphere to facilitate space weather.
Discoveries With The James Web Space Telescope
Observation conducted by the James Webb Space Telescope has provided evidence regarding the existence of LHS 475 b, an Earth-like planet. This discovery shows how Webb, beyond what has already been seen with previous telescopes, can analyze exoplanet atmospheres – helping the search for life in the universe.
Conclusion
Many missions are on the schedule for the future, but a couple of elements make 2024 a year to widen our knowledge of the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies. Such endeavors depict our societies’ peoples’ dreams and aspirations to discover and to better understand the cosmos of our worlds.
