This year will be an exciting time for space missions.
2025 begins with two lunar landing attempts in January, followed by SpaceX’s bold demonstration of transferring propellants between two Starship vehicles in low Earth orbit – a key test of capability of the company to use space to reach the moon and Mars. Later in 2025, Europa will launch an unmanned robotics laboratory, and NASA’s Juno spacecraft may reach the end of its extended mission and burn up in Jupiter’s dense atmosphere.
Here are the coldest space jobs you can expect in 2025.
Blue Ghost 1 and Intuitive Machines’ landing on the moon
In mid-January, Texas-based Firefly Aerospace will launch the “Ghost Riders in the Sky” mission, which aims to land a man on the moon with 10 NASA payloads. The lunar lander will head towards Mons Latreille, a nearby volcano month which was formed by volcanic eruptions 3 billion years ago.
The probe, called Blue Ghost 1, is expected to operate during one lunar day, or about 14 Earth days, where it will collect data on the moon’s regolith, or rocky surface, and whether How does that rock interact with the sun? the wind (a stream of explosive particles from the sun’s outer atmosphere) and the Earth’s gravity.
Towards the end of its mission, Blue Ghost 1 will take pictures of the moon setting and collect data on changes in the moon’s surface at dusk.
Meanwhile, Texas-based Intuitive Machines hopes to land its IM-2 spacecraft on the south side of the moon in February. The purpose of the spacecraft is to measure the volatility of regolith, or the chemical composition that breaks down, using a drill and a gravity detector. The spacecraft will also carry a small satellite, the Lunar Trailblazer, designed to map the lunar surface to help NASA determine future landing sites for it. Works of Artemis IM-2 will fly a more direct route than Blue Ghost 1 and is set to land on the moon just a week after launch.
SpaceX’s daring attempt to transfer into orbit propellant
SpaceX is preparing for an intense test to transfer propellant from one Starship to another while stationed in low Earth orbit. The demonstration, scheduled for March 2025, will involve launching two windowless Starship vehicles about three to four weeks apart, with the second serving as a refueling tank for did not go forward.
This test is an important step in demonstrating that the spacecraft can be used to reach the moon and, eventually, Mars. Current NASA plans to land on the moon and Mars rely on the Human Landing System version of the Starship. In theory, astronauts aboard the Human Landing System as part of the Artemis 3 mission will reach the moon no sooner than mid-2027.
First NASA-ISRO Earth science mission
Also in March 2025, NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have teamed up to launch their first space probe for the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) looking at Earth, which will explore much of the icy world. almost every week. Using a pair of radar instruments that can see through clouds day and night, the spacecraft will measure the movement of Earth’s surface down to fractions of an inch. Such accurate measurements will help scientists monitor ground motions that may be a precursor to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, as well as detect changes in forest and agricultural land. .
The United States and India are also collaborating in a high-profile effort to send the first pilot of the Indian Air Force Shubhanshu Shukla – to the International Space Station before April 2025 on Axiom Mission 4.
The launch of the “Blue” and “Gold” Mars satellites is delayed
Two NASA satellites orbiting Mars, developed at the University of California, Berkeley, will study how and when the Red Planet lost its atmosphere. They are currently slated to begin in early 2025, following a delay to the original October 2024 launch.
The satellites – named “Blue” and “Gold” in reference to UC Berkeley’s school colors – will orbit Mars at different locations to simultaneously collect data on the Earth’s plasma and gravity. With this information, scientists hope to learn how atoms are removed from the Red Planet’s atmosphere.
The mission, called Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE), was halted in September due to concerns that the launch vehicle, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, would be unfit. The alignment of Earth and Mars creates an ideal launch window every 26 months, so even small schedule changes can cause delays of many months. The 2025 launch will include the necessary gravity boost past Venus, which will extend the flight time by 1.5 years.
China’s mission to retrieve samples from a near-Earth asteroid
China is preparing for a major mission to collect pieces of a near-Earth asteroid, return it to Earth, and then explore the comet in deep space. The Tianwen-2 spacecraft, scheduled for launch in May 2025, will encounter 469219 Kamo’oalewa, our planet’s quasi-moon discovered in 2016. Ground-based observations suggest that, unlike most near-Earth asteroids, 469219 Kamo’olewa may be blasted from the lunar surface with a major impact between 10 million and 1 million years ago, very recently in the history of the planet’s orbit.
Tianwen-2 will conduct long-distance observations to assess potential habitable sites before attempting to collect samples from the space rock. Now, the spacecraft will bring in payloads from all over the world, and use our planet’s gravity to propel itself on a seven-year path that will take it to the main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS in the middle of the 2030s.
Juno’s potential death affects Jupiter
NASA’s $1.1 billion Juno spacecraft has been studying Jupiter and its moons since 2016. The mission, which has been extended, will end in September 2025 as the spacecraft burn in the gas stove, unless it survives Jupiter’s powerful rays.
According to the plan, Juno’s orbit will naturally decelerate, allowing Jupiter’s gravity to pull the probe into the planet’s dense clouds. The final wave, which will last about 5.5 days, will ensure that the atmosphere and any Earth bacteria that may be aboard do not accidentally contaminate Jupiter’s ice-covered moon, which scientists consider it one of the most beautiful places in our planetary system. seek the lives of strangers.
Europe’s launch of a non-recyclable robotics laboratory
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Space Rider, an unmanned robotic laboratory the size of two minivans, is expected to launch in the third quarter of 2025. The spacecraft will remain in the low Earth’s atmosphere for two months, during which the robotics laboratory. It will conduct technical demonstrations and microgravity experiments.
At the end of its mission, Space Rider will turn around and land on the runway at the European airport in French Guiana and be prepared for at least five more flights. The space shuttle is ESA’s initiative to provide commercial customers with cost-effective end-to-end services, with a wider strategy to help Europe maintain independent, permanent access to and from orbit. the bottom of the Earth.
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