The space missions we expect in 2023: the moon will be the protagonist

2022 was a positive year for astronomy in all its branches: The first step was taken with Artemis For the return of humanity to the moon, prof First planetary defense mission against an asteroid (DART) s First photos of James Webb It completely shocked the scientific community.

The year 2023 seems to have a huge hurdle to overcome, but space agencies are already maintaining a schedule of major missions to explore the universe and advance knowledge of our universe, trying to answer vital questions like Where did we come from? Or is there life outside the planet?

Space missions to follow in 2023

Now yes, Starship

One of the tasks that should start with a yes or a yes in 2022 is order Starshipfrom SpaceX, which is owned by entrepreneur Elon Musk.

During 2022, the company is expected to make the first orbital flight of the ship, which it hopes will carry passengers and cargo to the Moon and Mars in the future. However, this important test has not yet taken place due to multiple delays, of a technical, scientific and environmental nature.

When that happens, the Super Heavy booster propels the spacecraft’s capsule into orbit. The spacecraft will orbit the planet and return automatically at a point near Hawaii in about 90 minutes. In theory, the orbital flight should take place in the first half of the year.

The Starship launch will be the event to consider in 2023, although it was expected by the end of 2022, the plan has been delayed between approval of the flight and an overall change of engines for the new SpaceX rocket. We’ll soon see if the idea of ​​such a monstrous machine works or requires more work,” says technology specialist Fabio Bacaglione, writing in Fabio.com.ar.

Artemis II (hopefully)

One of the most important missions in 2022 was Artemis 1, the Orion capsule orbiting the moon and Gather basic information To achieve the long-awaited landing on the moon after decades.

specially, Artemis 2 He will be the one to continue that streak, now taking astronauts into lunar orbit. During the project’s official schedule, this phase was dated for 2023, but the four delays to Artemis 1, which only managed to take off in November, could make it difficult for its successor to take off.

“We have to see how the Artemis mission will develop, which is expected to send humans to the moon again in 2024, so during 2023 the results of Artemis 1 will be studied. We hope that valuable data will be obtained from this test to start Artemisa 2, which is the stage with Humans in the Orion space module,” says Carla Arce Tord, a graduate in physics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and a doctoral candidate in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chile.

For now, NASA will be devoted to studying, debugging, and improving the system for this upcoming flight. If possible, we can see Artemis 2 at the end of next year.

To continue looking into space through telescopes

This new year, we’ll be keeping a close eye on what the telescope continues to do James Webb in space, which is by far a space landmark of the modern space age. “By 2023 we certainly expect more results from James Webb. We await more detailed and revolutionary discoveries in the field of astrophysical observations,” says Arce-Tord.

But she will not be the only one who will arouse interest in society. Another terrestrial community the community is looking forward to is the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a telescope being built in northern Chile that will be able to image the entire sky thanks to its wide field of view.

We are waiting for the first notes Vera C. Rubin Telescope, which is a ground-based telescope that will revolutionize the study of dark matter and a more detailed survey of our galaxy, the Milky Way, to understand various phenomena, continues the doctoral candidate and also a scientific interlocutor under the name “AstroCarla”. “The first light, as the telescope’s first observation is called, will be a highly anticipated event in 2023.”

Finally, we sculpt about spherex, a near-infrared space observatory that wants to measure the spectra of 450 million galaxies. You’ll explore what drove inflation in the early universe, and explore the origin and history of galaxies, while also searching for water in planetary systems.

Lunar Trailblazer and VIPER

After confirmations of the presence of water on our satellite, NASA is looking for a way to tap this resource for future colonization purposes..

This is where he comes in mole Trailblazera small satellite that seeks to determine the amount of water on the moon and map it to understand its existence and learn about its cycle in it.

Besides, the agency also plans to send a water-hunting rover called the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (Viber) by the end of the year. This golf cart-sized robot will search for lunar resources in situ, trying to map their distribution and gauge their depth and purity.

Deer Moon

One mission that remains without a date, since the success of the Starship’s orbital flight depends on it, is the DearMoon mission.

Yusaku Maezawa is an eccentric Japanese He bought tickets for a full crew to travel to the Moon as part of a sightseeing tour. among his companions DJ Steve Aoki, K-pop musician Choi Seung-hyun, and YouTuber Tim Dodd.

In theory, it is still scheduled for the end of 2023, but it will be necessary to analyze SpaceX’s progress on its own program to determine if it will happen.

Mining of breath and space

The asteroid Psyche 16 is one of the most interesting candidates to study in the universe because it is believed to be a conserving planet High value of gold, nickel and iron.

To do this, NASA is preparing a probe for on-site study as part of the Discovery program, with competitive, low-budget missions.

It was expected to launch in 2022, but due to delays in the delivery of flight software and test equipment for the spacecraft, Its release has been delayed to a wide release period between 2023 and 2024.

What’s intriguing is that, along with Psyche, NASA’s Janus mission will also be launched to study twin binary asteroid systems and demonstrate deep-space optical communications technology to test high-data-rate laser communications integrated with the spacecraft.

Beano powders are back

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft went down in history next Collect samples from the asteroid Bennu in 2020 After a small “explosion” on its surface.

Now he’s back and will be looking to deliver the regolith to scientists on Earth in September 2023. But there’s a lot of science behind that: spacecraft must drop the beam at a precise speed and direction for it to be successfully captured on our planet. If the release angle is too high, it will bounce off the atmosphere, but if it is too low, it will burn up on re-entry.

That’s why we’ll know all this in 2023 how NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will perform maneuvers and corrections so that The capsule with the samples arrives safely to the laboratories. Subsequent analyzes will be key to understanding the history of our solar system and whether these asteroids have chemical signatures of the building blocks of life.

And if you’re wondering why OSIRIS-Rex hasn’t returned to Earth fully, it’s because it already has a new mission: to visit the apocalyptic asteroid Apophis. After releasing Bennu’s rock cluster, the ship will start its engines to head toward the star. Changing its name to OSIRIS-APEX.

juice

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer is a European Space Agency mission that will seek to study Jupiter and its satellites Ganymede, Europa and Callisto and the vast amount of water beneath them.

The probe will be launched in April using an Ariane 5 rocket, and is one of the most ambitious and hopeful projects in astronomy this year.

JUICE will reach Ganymede’s orbit in eight years With cameras, spectrometers, magnetometers and ice penetrating radar.

Xuntian and Chinese

Just as the United States relied on Hubble and now James Webb, China will have its own space telescope called xuntian or “cruise in the sky”.

This device will have privacy: sIt will stay near the Chinese space station Tiangong In case of faults, refueling or maintenance.

Xuntian will be able to observe in visible light and in the near ultraviolet. It will have a 2 meter diameter primary mirror with a 2.5 million pixel sensor, which will be powered by a spectrometer.

With so much progress in the Chinese space program, it could launch soon, though unfortunately we’ll learn about it around the same time as it does because of the secrecy the government usually has with its projects.

“I am particularly impressed by the progress China is making, and it is a great example of the perseverance and discipline that prompted them to build the Tiangong space station. I hope that by the end of 2023 the Xuntian space telescope, an instrument with characteristics similar to the Hubble Space Telescope but but with new technologies,” explains Vanessa Navarrete, a physicist from Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, who teaches astronomy courses on her blog. Let’s talk about the universe. “So if I choose a space mission, I would lean toward launching a space telescope. xuntian Which, in addition to proving that China is on its way to becoming a powerhouse in space technology, inspires a whole generation of children and youth who are living this moment with pride and who will surely choose a STEM career for their professional development. . “