Important Events on the Way Back to the Moon
NASA wants to put American astronauts on the surface of the moon in the next few years with the Artemis III mission. Before that happens, however, many things need to go right, and two of the most important are scheduled for 2024.
The first was the Artemis II mission. NASA introduced four Artemis II astronauts last year. Once November, the four can travel around the moon and back. They will be the first humans to travel near the moon since 1972, when the Apollo 17 mission ended. To fly in 2024, NASA will need to solve issues with a heat shield on the astronauts’ spacecraft, as well as overcome the other potential delays.
The second drawback is that the Orion capsule can only orbit the moon — it doesn’t land. Astronauts need another vehicle to get to the surface. Right now, that’s a version of Starship, the spacecraft being built by SpaceX, the private spaceflight company founded by Elon Musk. But the Starship needs a lot of work before it’s ready to take astronauts to the moon.
Starship prototypes of Mr. Musk launched twice in 2023, and each mission ended in a fiery explosion. SpaceX says it wants to fly the next Starship test early 2024; whether it succeeds or fails, flights of more prototypes may follow. If SpaceX gets the next Starship flights right, NASA’s prospects of putting the next man and the first woman on the moon will improve in the coming years.
A Total Eclipse in North America
The celestial spectacle of 2024 is the “Great North American Eclipse.” On April 8, the moon will block the sun, darkening the Earth during the day. The broad path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, crosses Texas, continues through Arkansas and Missouri in Southern Illinois, crosses Indiana and Ohio, then darkens western New York and the New England states before ending in the eastern provinces of Canada.
If you live on the trail, prepare for visitors. (You won’t be able to book a trip to the path of totality soon enough.) And if you plan to observe the eclipse — from anywhere — it’s time to order eclipse glasses or other protective viewing.
New Rockets and Rides to Space
Falcon 9 rockets, developed and operated by SpaceX, have become the dominant means of getting into space. The launcher or its Falcon Heavy variant has flown 96 times by 2023, with each successful orbit flight. But SpaceX should expect new competitors on the launchpads in 2024. They include:
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Vulcan, a rocket developed by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The rocket engines were developed by Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. It can fly on January 8.
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Ariane 6, a European rocket. The European Space Agency has not had a dedicated vehicle to go into orbit recently, forcing Europe to rely on SpaceX and others to get spacecraft out of the solar system. After a series of delays, the first flight of Ariane 6 could happen in June.
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H3, a Japanese rocket. This vehicle was launched for the first time in March 2023, but failed in its attempt to put an imaging satellite into orbit. A second attempt could happen on February 15.
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New Glenn, a rocket from Blue Origin. The company of Mr. Bezos flew tourists to the edge of space in his smaller New Shepard vehicle. Its large orbital launcher could debut in 2024, slowing private spaceflight if it is successful.
New vehicles can also visit the International Space Station. Dream Chaser, a space plane built by the company Sierra Space, may carry cargo to the station for the first time this year. In addition, the Starliner, a capsule made by Boeing, may finally carry a crew of astronauts to the outpost in orbit on April 14 after years of delays.
Lunar Traffic Jam
Three missions attempted to land on the moon in 2023. Only one, Chandrayaan-3 from India, succeeded. Four additional missions – and possibly more – will also attempt to complete a lunar landing by 2024:
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SLIM, a Japanese mission, was supposed to be the first lunar landing attempt of 2024, on Jan. 20. The small, experimental spacecraft launched in September and is already orbiting the moon.
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Two other missions came from private companies, with NASA as their main customer. Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh company, will launch its Peregrine lunar lander on January 8, which may attempt to descend near the Ocean of Storms on the near side of the moon in February. Houston’s Intuitive Machines will send its own lander to the moon’s south pole in mid-February.
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China is also planning its fourth lunar landing. Chang’e-6 could head to the far side of the moon in May, taking samples of moon rock and dust to bring back to Earth for study.
Other missions are more temporary. The Japanese company Ispace, which crashed its first lander last year, may make a second attempt later this year. And Intuitive Machines has ambitions to send two more NASA-sponsored missions to the moon by 2024.
Voyages Around the Solar System
There is a vast solar system out there, and missions large and small will be preparing to explore it.
The largest is Europa Clipper, a NASA spacecraft headed for Jupiter’s moon, Europa, in October. Europa has an icy exterior that hides vast oceans that scientists say could have the right conditions for life. After Clipper arrives at Europa in 2030, the spacecraft will attempt no landing there, but will study the moon in dozens of flybys.
Two new spacecraft may also head to the red planet as soon as August as part of NASA’s small ESCAPADE mission. The spacecraft will orbit Mars and study the magnetic bubble surrounding it.
In October, the European Space Agency will launch the Hera mission to the asteroid Dimorphos. It will study the effects of an earlier mission, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, which crashed into Dimorphos in 2022 to test whether changing the space rock’s trajectory could protect Earth from future asteroid strikes.
