NASA/Liam Yanulis
There’s intense competition between the US and China to establish bases on the Moon.
The Sun can send out eruptions of energetic particles.
NASA/SDO via AP
The Sun will be at its most explosive right around the time NASA plans to put people back on the Moon.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on approach to the International Space Station during an uncrewed test in 2022.
Bob Hines/NASA
The Starliner launched June 5 after several delays, making it the first commercial crew craft that’s not SpaceX’s Dragon to lift off.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 18, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Four private astronauts make their way to the International Space Station.
(AP Photo/John Raoux)
Space exploration is not a waste of resources, but a source of technological and medical advances, a tool for climate monitoring and a source of educational inspiration for youth.
NASA
The next generation of spacesuit needs to do more than simply protect an astronaut from the vacuum of space.
Intuitive Machines
A private company has successfully delivered cargo to the Moon’s surface for the first time. Here’s what that means for future space exploration.
Crew members in space will spend lots of time together during future missions to Mars.
NASA via AP
Can astronauts spend prolonged time in close quarters millions of miles from Earth without killing each other?
The dark, far side of the Moon is the perfect place to conduct radio astronomy.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
Projects under NASA’s CLPS program – including the Odysseus lander that made it to the lunar surface – will probe unexplored questions about the universe’s formation.
The entrance to For All Mankind’s Happy Valley.
Apple
In sci-fi depictions, extraterrestrial habitats have evolved tandem with scientific understanding of conditions on planets
The Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. The successful Artemis I mission was the first in an increasingly complex planned series of missions, which have now been delayed.
(NASA/Cory Huston)
NASA announced that the next two Artemis missions — Artemis II and III — will be delayed for safety reasons. However, Artemis IV remains on schedule.
Photograph: Nasa (Goddard Space Flight Center)
The Peregrine and Nova-C landers are due to carry out valuable science at two diverse lunar locations.
NASA isn’t the only space agency with exciting missions to watch for in 2024.
AP Photo/John Raoux
Expect lots of space missions to launch this coming year, with exciting new science to follow.
The Moon, shot from Pakistan during a lunar eclipse.
AP Photo/Fareed Khan
Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing on the Moon made 2023 a big year for lunar exploration, and future years will come with even more discoveries.
Growing Beyond Earth
Astronauts living and working on the Moon will need something to eat. The Growing Beyond Earth program supports international space crop research.
With NASA planning more missions to space in the future, scientists are studying how to mitigate health hazards that come with space flight.
AP Photo/John Raoux
Space can damage everything from your cardiovascular and nervous systems to your mental health – long voyages can feel isolating for many.
India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully touched down on the south pole of the Moon on Aug. 23, 2023, sparking celebrations across the country.
AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi
India became the first country to land near the south pole of the Moon, a notoriously difficult achievement that also marks them as the fourth country to land on the Moon.
Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, launched from a spaceport in Texas.
AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The launch of a new rocket is always an exciting event. SpaceX’s ‘go fast and fail’ approach means that even though the test ended with engineers blowing up the rocket, it was a valuable first flight.
NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System rocket, with the Orion capsule attached, launches at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
As signatories, Nigeria and Rwanda are demonstrating their commitment to safe, sustainable use of outer space. This should have multiple benefits.
The far side of the Moon is an attractive place to carry out astronomy.
NASA / Ernie Wright
The current race to the Moon is opening up opportunities for lunar astronomy.
Both the U.S. and China have plans to establish bases on the Moon in the near future.
Caspar Benson/fStop via Getty Images
China has invested massively in its space capabilities in recent years and is now a major competitor with the US. But according to a space policy expert, the US still dominates space by most measures.