4 exciting space missions to take place in 2024
Humanity's space exploration efforts will continue at full speed in 2024.
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Although humanity is not expected to set foot on the Moon again in 2024, the new year will witness many different space missions that could change the course of history forever. Even in just the first half of the year, we will encounter many exciting and ambitious missions.
Peregrine lunar lander
According to the compilation reported by Chip, one of the most exciting and ambitious missions we will see in the first half of 2024 will be the landing of Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander on our satellite. Originally planned for launch in 2023, the mission was postponed to the beginning of 2024 and is scheduled to launch on January 8, if everything goes as planned.
The Peregrine lander will be one of the first times a spacecraft has touched the Moon since the Apollo program ended more than 50 years ago. The lander will carry 20 different payloads from various governments and private organizations and will be the first vehicle to study the Gruithuisen Domes on the lunar surface.
Artemis II will carry astronauts around the Moon
Humanity will not set foot on the Moon again this year, but Artemis II, the next space mission in NASA's iconic return to the lunar surface, could launch as early as November 2024. If there are no setbacks in the plans, Artemis will carry four astronauts around the Moon and bring them back to Earth after a 10-day mission in space.
This is an exciting mission that will help pave the way for future space exploration, and if it is postponed, it will lead to further delays for future Artemis missions.
Europa Clipper
Jupiter's moon Europa has long been one of the objects that has intrigued scientists. Although it is smaller than our own moon, it seems to hold some intriguing secrets beneath its icy surface, and NASA plans to explore it more deeply with the Europa Clipper, which will launch in October.
This will be one of the first 2024 space missions to investigate planets and objects we have not yet explored, and it will enter orbit around Jupiter in 2030. So, we will have to wait a while longer for it to collect new information about Jupiter's icy moon and send it back to Earth.
Moon sniper
Perhaps one of the most ambitious 2024 space missions we will see in the next few months will be Japan's "Moon sniper." The reason this mission is called a "sniper" is that the spacecraft is designed to land within 100 meters of its target landing area, and achieving this is truly difficult.
Despite the times we have landed on the Moon in the past, landing in a specific area is extremely difficult. The fact that spacecraft need to slow down and start orbiting the Moon before landing makes it difficult to control exactly where they will land. However, JAXA's SLIM smart lander could change all of that.
Of course, the exciting space missions in 2024 are not limited to these. For example, NASA's satellites called Blue and Gold will study Mars' atmosphere to try to solve what happened to it, and for the first time, a mission will be sent specifically to Venus.
In addition to these, various iconic missions have been planned for the James Webb Space Telescope, and the space telescope will continue to provide more information about the history of our universe.