2020 brings Space closer than ever; Countries, Companies & Agencies plan next big step

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, it is hard to believe that 2020 is almost over. Life on Earth has been disastrous this year, however, humans have been making great progress up in space, making 2020 one of the most fruitful years for the space industry in history. From Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX launching nearly 16 missions, including its first-ever crewed flight to the International Space Station, to UAE launching the Arab world’s first mission to Mars, this year’s space launches have raised hopes for interplanetary living. 

Additionally, a number of international teams are also testing new ways to explore the moon, including visiting its dark side for the first time. With some days left for 2020 to end, there are still some more space missions that are yet to be launched. However, below is a compiled list of some of the most exciting government and commercial space projects which have been successful. 

1. SpaceX Crew Dragon

Back in 2019, SpaceX had designed “Crew Dragon,” which became the first privately owned spacecraft to successfully dock with the ISS. In 2020, NASA sent two of its astronauts to the ISS abroad the Crew Dragon, which became SpaceX’s first-ever crewed mission to space. On May 30, the spacecraft carried NASA astronaut Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken into orbit for a rendezvous with the space station, becoming the first crewed vehicle to fly from the US soil since the retirement of the shuttle in 2011. 

(Image: @Raptor22d/Twitter)

2. NASA’s Mars 2020 Rover 

NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover was launched on July 30 this year and it is scheduled to land inside the 28-mile-wide Jezero Crater on the afternoon of February 18, next year. The Perseverance rover is the highlight of NASA's $2.7 billion Mars 2020 mission that will operate along the landing strategy discovered by its predecessor, the Curiosity rover. A rocket-powered sky crane will lower Perseverance to Jezero's floor on cables, then fly off to crash-land a safe distance away. The rover will use its advanced instrument suite to track for signs of ancient Mars life in Jezero. The Mars rover will also collect and cache samples for a future return to Earth and demonstrate technologies that could aid future exploration of the red planet.

(Image: NASA/Website) 

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3. SpaceX’s Starlink

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation that aims to provide high-speed internet access to users around the world, especially in rural areas and remote regions. SpaceX's Starlink is one of Elon Musk's most ambitious projects where the private company plans to deploy a huge constellation of around 12,000 satellites into the low Earth orbit. SpaceX has been regularly launching Starlink satellites into space for its mega constellation project. The company eventually plans to offer internet services at affordable prices; however, it seems a bit expensive at the moment.

4. Hope Mars Mission

Back in July, the United Arab Emirates became an interplanetary country as it successfully launched the Arab world’s first mission to Mars. On July 20, 'Al Amal,' or 'Hope' probe took off from Tanegashima Space Centre in, Japan, at 06.58 local time (21.58 GMT) with an assist from a Mitsubishi rocket booster. The mission to the red planet will be a seven-month journey, where it will orbit and send back data about the Martian atmosphere.

Image: @DBXOffice/Twitter) 

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5. China’s Chang’e 5

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched a mission to the moon on November 24. The mission consisted of both a lunar rover and a system designed to land on the Moon. Chang'e-5 probe comprises an orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and a returner. Its lander-ascender combination touched down on the north of the Mons Rumker in Oceanus Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of the moon on December 1. This is the first time a Chinese spacecraft has carried out rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit. Chang'e-5 is one of the most complicated and challenging missions in Chinese aerospace history, as well as the world's first moon-sample mission in more than 40 years.

(Image: @Newscientist/Twitter) 

6. Solar orbiter 

The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with NASA, launched a solar orbiter mission on February 10 for studying and analysing the physics of the Sun and will also be the first to capture the images of the Sun's poles. The satellite orbits the star, beaming high-resolution photos and measuring the solar wind as part of the mission. Coated with a heat shield developed by Irish firm Enbio, called SolarBlack, the spacecraft can endure temperatures of more than 500 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt lead. The satellite will make a close approach to the sun every five months, and at its closest will only be 42m km away, closer than the planet Mercury.

(Image: AP)

7. China’s Mars probe Tianwen-1

Tianwen-1 launched for its Mars mission on July 23 aboard Long March 5 rocket. Tianwen-1 which translates to "questions to heaven" was launched from Wenchang on Hainan Island, as per a report published in the journal Nature Astronomy which was composed by team members of China's Tianwen-1 Mars mission. China has isolated an area stretching from Isidis Planitia across to the big volcano Elysium Mons for the landing where NASA's Viking 2 lander touched down in 1976.  According to the study, China’s rover will operate for at least 90 Martian days. 

(Image: @ChinaEUMission/Twitter)

8. India’s PSLV-C49 satellite launch - now 51 successful PSLV launches

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on November 7 successfully launched the PSLV-C49/EOS-01 Mission. The PSLV rocket was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota around 3:02 pm, marking the first launch for the year of 2020. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C49) is a four-state rocket and is 44.5 m in total height. The rocket is fuelled by the propellant Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and the overall weight of PSLV-C49 is 320 tonnes. Also known as 'workhorse of ISRO', this series of carriers have been highly successful in ISRO's multiple missions to launch satellites into the various orbital levels of the space. 

(Credit: @ISRO)

9. Russia’s Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft

The Russian government sent a group of NASA astronauts to the ISS abroad a Soyuz rocket and Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft combo. The Soyuz capsule, carrying a NASA astronaut and two cosmonauts, docked to the ISS after it blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 14. The crew members embarked on a two-orbit, three-hour journey to the space station where they joined Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. The latest Soyuz journey has also beaten the fastest time of missions carrying supplies to the station.

 10. SpaceX-ISS cargo mission

NASA’s commercial cargo provider SpaceX on December 6 launched Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) at  11:17 a.m. The 21st commercial resupply services (CRS-21) mission’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX’s CRS-21 will deliver science equipment and supplies for NASA under its second resupply contract. For the first time the Elon Musk-owned space agency has at least 2 of its capsules in the orbit with the recent upgraded Dragon spacecraft’s launch.

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