Moon, Mars, Asteroids – NASA, ESA and Co. Have big plans for 2022

The focus of space travel in 2022 will be on the moon, but Mars, asteroids and space travel will not be missed either. NASA, ISA and Govt projects

Frankfurt – The year of space travel 2021 had some major highlights: the missions of the US space agency NASA, the Chinese CNSA and the United Arab Emirates reached Mars, and then reliably provided scientific knowledge and images of the red planet. Asteroid missions took soil samples and brought them to Earth. Space travel picked up speed – Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX brought tourists into space. For astronomers, the launch of the long-awaited “James Webb” space telescope by NASA and ISA at the end of 2021 should have been a special highlight.

But what is in the space program for 2022? While last year the focus was on the red planet Mars, this year it is on the moon. Many missions will have to go to the satellite in 2022 or later to lay the groundwork for lunar flights. But Mars also flies back and asteroids are in the center Space travel.

Space travel 2022: NASA wants to go back to the moon, SpaceX doing basic work

One of NASA’s most important missions this year could be the launch of the new heavy-lift rocket SLS (Space Launch System). The launch, currently scheduled for March 2022, aims to launch the rocket into orbit around the moon. This is the mission of “Artemis 1”, the initial signal for NASA’s “Artemis” project, which is not expected to return people to the moon until 2025. At least that’s the plan – the start of “Artemis 1” has already been postponed several times, the date when people will have to be on the moon again.

Another big rocket is set to launch in 2022: SpaceX’s “Starship” is scheduled to fly into orbit for the first time this year, and is currently scheduled for March 2022. This launch should also be done with NASA’s lunar projects: “Starship” should act as a lunar module the next time people fly to the moon. SpaceX and Elon Musk win NASA tender against “Blue Origin” by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Space travel 2022: NASA sends several missions to the moon

Three robotic launchers are scheduled to land on the moon in 2022 on behalf of NASA. Private companies such as Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic have been selected by the US space agency to bring small lunar landings to the moon by the end of 2022 with various scientific instruments. The background is NASA’s Commercial Lunar Pilot Services Program (CLPS), which pays private space companies to bring cargo and research equipment to the moon.

Intuitive Machines’ Lander Nova-C with SpaceX’s “Falcon 9” rocket is scheduled to launch to the moon in the spring of 2022. If all goes according to plan, the second lunar mission of intuition machines should follow in the fourth quarter of 2022. With the launch of the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA)’s new Vulcan rocket – the astronaut’s Peregrine Lander is scheduled to launch to the moon in mid – 2022.

Space travel 2022: NASA wants to test the moon’s orbit, and other countries are flying to the moon

In March 2022, the private space agency Rocket Lab is set to launch a small cube into space for NASA. This small satellite, called “Capstone”, is to test an orbit around the moon, which is to be used after the planned lunar station “Gateway”.

Other countries go to the moon in 2022: South Korea wants to send “Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter” into lunar orbit using SpaceX, where the satellite will explore the lunar geography. The satellite also has a camera that looks for possible landing sites for the next landing mission.

For the first time since 1976, Russia wants to return to the moon. The “Luna-25” lander is scheduled to launch to the moon in mid-2022, where it will, among other things, explore the ground and test future landing technologies. After the crash landing in 2019, India wants to try again to land on the moon with the “Chandrayaan-3” project. So far, the target is the third quarter of 2022. And a Japanese company also wants to try its luck on the moon this year. If the landing is successful, two small rovers are to be launched on Earth’s satellite – one of them, “Rashid”, coming from the United Arab Emirates, the second being contributed by the Japanese space agency Jaxa.

Space Travel 2022: Isa only uses missiles to Mars

The launch of the European-Russian “Exosmer” mission was originally scheduled for 2018. The first part of the voyage, the “Trace Case Orbiter”, is now orbiting the red planet, while the test rover “Schiaparelli” made a mistake in landing. The second part of the mission, the launch of the “Rosalind Franklin” rover, is now scheduled for September 2022. There is a good missile window for Mars in the fall, after the launch was canceled in 2020 due to parachute problems, the European space agency ISA and its Russian counterpart Roscosmos want to use.

The European-Russian launch to Mars is currently scheduled for September 22, 2022, and “Rosalind Franklin” is scheduled for landing on June 10, 2023. Will the landing succeed this time? Russian and European experiences with Mars are not necessary – 19 Russian and two European attempts to land on Mars have so far failed. Most recently, “Schiaparelli” crashed on the red planet in 2016.

Space 2022: Asteroid exploration continues

In 2021, NASA’s “Dart” mission went to the asteroid system “Didimos”. By 2022 it should reach Dual Asteroid – a larger asteroid orbiting a smaller asteroid – and take action: “Dart” will ram the smaller asteroid in September 2022 and change its orbit. This is the first practical test of planetary defense theory. These findings are used to develop more precise plans against dangerous asteroids. The second phase of the work will be carried out by the European ESA and will begin in 2024.

NASA plans another asteroid mission to August 2022: a space exploration asteroid “Psych” is to visit. The asteroid is made of nickel and iron and is believed to be the remains of a planet. Research on “psychology” is about providing researchers with insights into planetary nuclei.

Space 2022: ISS and space travel for space travel

2021 is the year of the beginning of space tourism, and 2022 should be the most common form of travel to the International Space Station (ISS). At the end of 2021, two Japanese men visited the ISS, carried by a Russian Soyuz space capsule and accompanied by an experienced Russian astronaut. During the current year, Elon Musk’s private space agency, SpaceX, plans to make exactly two cruises to the ISS: on February 28, 2022, four astronauts (one of them a former NASA astronaut) are scheduled to fly to the space station aboard. A “Crew Dragon” capsule. They will stay there for a total of eight days and undergo 25 experiments in a weightless state. A second SpaceX cruise is planned for the ISS in the fall of 2022. Space travel aircraft from the Virgin Galactic (by Richard Branson) and the Blue Origin (by Jeff Bezos) should also return to the plan for 2022.

Beyond space travel, a lot has to happen in space travel in 2022: Boeing does not want to make the next attempt to fly to the ISS with the new Starliner spacecraft until May 2022. The first attempt in 2019 failed and no attempt was made after that. If the drone wins for the ISS, the flight with a crew will take place later in the year. China is currently in the process of building the “Tiangong” space station. The station is scheduled to expand further in 2022, and is planned to be permanently managed by three astronauts for at least ten years.

A mission launched in 2021, but it will show what it can do this year with the “James Web Space Telescope” of NASA, ISA and the Canadian space agency CSA. Launched at the end of 2021, the giant space telescope will take about six months to reach its target of 1.5 million kilometers from Earth and be ready for use. Researchers expect nothing more than a revolution in our knowledge of the universe. The “web” can look back like any other telescope, and can, among other things, look at ancient galaxies in infrared light. (Tab)