2024-01-07 21:00:57
2024 is shaping up to be an exciting year for space exploration, with several ambitious missions planned by NASA, JAXA, and the European Space Agency.
One of the most highly anticipated missions is NASA’s Europa Clipper, which aims to explore Europa, one of Jupiter’s largest moons. Scientists believe that Europa’s icy surface covers an ocean of salt water, which may contain twice the amount of water available in Earth’s oceans combined. The mission will orbit Europa more than 50 times to study its icy crust, geology, and subsurface ocean, as well as search for possible geysers. The launch window for Europa Clipper opens on October 10, 2024, with the spacecraft scheduled to reach the Jupiter system by 2030.
NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a long-term and sustainable human presence on the moon, will see the launch of Artemis II. This mission will send four astronauts on a 10-day mission to orbit the moon before returning to Earth. Scheduled for launch in November 2024, Artemis II is a crucial step in preparing for future manned missions to Mars.
Another important mission is the launch of Viper, a golf cart-sized robot that will explore the lunar south pole in search of volatiles such as water and carbon dioxide. Viper was initially scheduled for launch in 2023 but was postponed to complete further tests on the lander system. The mission is now set for November 2024.
Additionally, NASA recently invested in a group of low-cost lunar missions called SIMPLE X, including the Trailblazer and PRIME-1 missions. Trailblazer aims to orbit the moon to measure surface temperature and detect water molecules, while PRIME-1 will dig into the lunar surface to test penetration ahead of the Viper mission. Both missions are scheduled for launch in early and mid-2024, respectively.
International space agencies are also gearing up for major missions in 2024. Japan’s JAXA plans to launch the Martian Moon eExploration mission in September, which will observe and land on the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. Meanwhile, the European Space Agency’s Hera mission is set to return to the Dimorphos and Didymos asteroid system, following NASA’s successful DART mission in 2022.
With so much planned for 2024, the year promises to be a significant one for space exploration, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries and advancements in our understanding of the universe.
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