The year 2023 is expected to be another busy one. Here are five of the most thrilling missions to keep an eye out for.
(1) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer
- In April, the European Space Agency (ESA) is set to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), in what will be Europe’s first dedicated robotic mission to Jupiter.
- Juice is scheduled to arrive on the planet in July 2031 after an incredible journey through the Solar System.
- The mission will enter Jupiter’s orbit and fly by its three large icy moons, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
- After four years of moon flybys, Juice will enter orbit around Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet’s moon.
- Jupiter’s icy moons are fascinating because they are all thought to contain oceans of liquid water beneath their frozen surfaces.
- Europa, in particular, is regarded as one of the most likely locations for extraterrestrial life in the Solar System.
(2) SpaceX Starship
- The Starship will be the largest spacecraft capable of transporting humans from Earth to space destinations (the International Space Station is larger, but it was assembled in space).
- It will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever flown, capable of transporting 100 tonnes of cargo into low-Earth orbit.
- The Starship system consists of two components: the Starship spacecraft (which carries the crew and cargo) and the Super Heavy rocket.
- The rocket component will lift the Starship to a height of 65 kilometers before separating and landing safely on Earth.
- The upper Starship component will then use its own engines to propel itself to orbit.
(3) dearMoon Project
- The long-awaited dearMoon project, which will take members of the public on a six-day journey around the Moon and back, is set to launch on Starship in 2023.
- It will be the first launch of true deep space tourism.
- This mission will usher in a new era in the way we think about space, as previously only astronauts chosen using extremely stringent criteria were able to travel to deep space.
- The success or failure of the dearMoon mission could determine whether deep space tourism becomes the next big thing or remains a pipe dream.
(4) OSIRIS-REx returning Earth
- Security — The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification The Regolith Explorer mission, better known as OSIRIS-REx, is a NASA mission to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
- One of the primary objectives of this robotic mission was to collect samples of Bennu and return them to Earth for analysis.
- OSIRIS-REx is now on its way back to Earth, carrying up to a kilogram of valuable asteroid samples.
- If everything goes as planned, the capsule will detach from the spacecraft, enter the Earth’s atmosphere, and parachute to a soft landing in Utah’s deserts.
- Only once before has an asteroid sample been returned, by the Japanese Space Agency’s Hayabusa 2 mission in 2020.
- Bennu is a diamond-shaped world about half a kilometer in size, but it has many interesting features.
- Water has altered some of the minerals found within it, implying that Bennu’s ancient parent body contained liquid water.
- It is also rich in precious metals such as gold and platinum.
- It is, however, classified as a potentially hazardous object with a (very) small chance of colliding with Earth in the next century.
(5) India’s private space launch
- Skyroot Aerospace, which launched its Vikram-S rocket successfully in November 2022, will soon become the first private Indian company to launch a satellite.
- The rocket itself reached an altitude of 90 kilometers, a distance that would need to be increased in order to place a constellation of satellites into orbit.
- Skyroot’s first satellite launch is scheduled for 2023, with the goal of undercutting private space launch competitors’ costs by producing 3D-printed rockets in a matter of days.
- If successful, this could pave the way for cheaper launches of scientific missions, allowing for faster research.
@the end
With many daring advances and launches scheduled for 2023, we are entering a new era reminiscent of the “Golden Age” of space launches in the 1960s and 1970s.
Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/five-space-exploration-missions-to-look-out-for-in-2023-1176127.html