To infinity and beyond!
1. TARGET, MARS
One of the biggest launches of next year will be that of the **Mars 2020 rover**. It is part of NASA's Mars Exploration program and among its experiments it will test a method to obtain oxygen in the Martian atmosphere.
You will also find information about the possibility of life on the red planet , as well as information on resources for future astronauts.
The launch will take place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station between July and August 2020 and is expected to land in February 2021.
Mars 2020 rover render
two. JAMES WEBB, NASA'S LARGEST TELESCOPE
In March 2021, the largest telescope ever built will be launched into space. His name is James Webb and his sun shield is the size of a tennis court. They say it will be the successor to the current Hubble.
Its four infrared instruments will search the first galaxies formed after the Big Bang and they will thus be able to determine how galaxies evolved and stars were formed.
The James Webb will also allow better penetrate dust and clouds to study cooler, fainter objects. It is a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
It is not the only telescope to be launched into space soon. **In a few days the Cheops **, from the European Space Agency, will be sent. In 2026 the Plato, which will study exoplanets and in 2028 the Ariel, designed to analyze the atmospheres of exoplanets.
The James Webb Telescope
3. CHINA AND ITS SURPRISE TRIPS
If at the beginning of this year China surprised with the announcement that it had landed a spaceship in the deepest crater on the Moon , now prepare to launch your probe Chang'e 5 , the first lunar soil and rock sample return mission since 1976.
Furthermore, everything points to in 2022 it will have completed its third space station and it will be ready to put astronauts on a lunar base and send probes to Mars.
Four. MISSION TO BENNU
On September 8, 2016, it was launched into space. the OSIRIS-Rex mission. His goal was to reach the asteroid Bennu to collect samples for –attention!– 5 seconds and bring them back to Earth… in 2023.
Bennu is composed mostly of chondrules, groups of molten rock that remain undisturbed and that they are an excellent example of the early solar system.
The journey there lasted 2 years, and after studying for a few months which is the best place to collect the sample, will travel back.
Liftoff of Atlas V for the OSIRIS-Rex mission
5. ARTEMIS, AGAIN USA TOWARDS THE MOON
Donald Trump said that NASA had to return to the Moon and has not stopped until the project has been launched. The mission is named ** Artemis **, Greek goddess of the moon, and will arrive at the South Pole of this satellite in 2024 to learn more about water and test technology.
Who wants to sign up for the project is the American billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, which is developing the Blue Moon lunar capsule to be able to participate in Artemis.
In fact, the haste of the American government to carry out this mission has opened the doors to private companies to collaborate with NASA.
6. AN ASTEROID BELT CALLED PSYCHE
At the end of 2022 **NASA's Discovery program will launch a spacecraft towards 16Psyche**, a metallic object in the asteroid belt 210 km wide and composed entirely of iron and nickel, instead of iron and rock .
Scientists believe they are the remains of a planet's core. That yes, to have results it will be necessary to wait a bit because the trip until there will be of 4 years.
7. REACH THREE MOONS OF JUPITER
Ganymede, Callisto and Europa is the name of the three moons of Jupiter that ESA wants to explore with JUICE . It will launch in 2022 and will take 7 years to arrive.
Once there you should find out if there is liquid water below their surfaces. By 2033, the spacecraft should enter orbit around Ganimdes and become the first spacecraft to orbit a moon other than the earth.
8. THE PLANS OF ELON MUSK
Just a few days ago Elon Musk also presented his space exploration calendar. The first step is an orbital flight with his Starship that could already take place in the coming months. In the next phase it will be about missions to the Moon and Mars.
Japanese billionaire Yusako Maezawa has a place reserved on a private flight to orbit the Moon and it is expected that in 2024 it can also be sent the first human mission to Mars.
The 100-person rocket could also be used as a fast transportation on earth.
9. THE CAPSULES OF JEFF BEZOS TO LIVE ON MARS
Among the objectives of the owner of Amazon is also colonize Mars in 2022. His idea is to create some space colonies that simulate the conditions of the Earth.
A spaceship with orchards, houses and animals that simulate life on our planet. Bezos warns that to be carried out they must Lower launch costs sooner.
10. JAPAN AND THE MARTIAN MOONS
In March 2025, JAXA's Mars Moon Survey probe will enter the orbit of Mars before moving on Phobos to collect particles with a simple pneumatic system.
The last attempt to get a sample of Phobos it was the Russian Phobos-Grunt mission in 2011, which had problems in low Earth orbit.
In March 2025, JAXA's Mars Moon Survey probe will enter Mars orbit
AND THIS IS HOW WE WILL DRESS IN SPACE
After knowing the proposals of New York, London, Milan and Paris for the spring-summer of 2020, VirginGalactic and NASA have also presented their models for the next trips… to space.
Richard Branson's company has allied with Under Armor to design a space suit, a training suit, footwear and also a limited edition jacket.
It is, as they explain from Virgin, the first kit created exclusively for private tourists. Blue jumpsuits in which, among other things, the fibers will be capable of regulate the temperature.
each suit will also be adapted to each passenger and will include national flags and the name. Also pockets for personal effects, one of them transparent and close to the heart to put photos of loved ones.
During the presentation in New York, Branson wore one of these models, while dancers also did acrobatics with the costumes on. a vertical zero-gravity facility.
The company plans to make the first commercial flights in 2020 and he has already sold more than 600 tickets at $250,000 each. trips to be in ships of 6 passengers that will take you to the limits of space to see the Earth and the darkness.
A mission that will last less than two hours, so passengers won't have to wear the same type of protection that NASA astronauts require.
Under Armor space suits for private tourists
NASA, MOST AGILE ASTRONAUTS
In the case of NASA, the priority has been improve the mobility of its astronauts. The new suit is called xEMU (it is the abbreviation for Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit) and includes materials that allow bend and rotate at the hips, as well as increase bending at the knees to pick things up off the ground.
They will also be able to move their arms more freely and lift objects above their heads. Inside the helmet the headphones have been improved to prevent them from being uncomfortable and sweaty. The new audio system includes Multiple, embedded, voice-activated microphones.
The suit is also designed to withstand extreme temperatures of minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade and up to 250 degrees in the sun, and protects from lunar dust. And has interchangeable parts that can be configured depending on the mission.
In this case, we will have to wait a little longer to see them in space, since they are not expected to be released until 2024, when first a woman and then a man will travel to the south pole of the Moon as part of the Artemisa exploration program.
During the presentation of this suit in Washington, NASA also showed the OCSS, an emergency suit designed for the Orion space shuttles. It is orange in color and is designed to protect astronauts at launch, on risky flights near the Moon and also for the return to Earth.
Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU)
SPACE X AND BOEING: ALSO IN THE RACE FOR SPACE DRESSES
A few months ago Elon Musk also presented the spacesuit of the future astronauts of Space X traveling aboard the Crewdragon. In this case, a black and white design with very geometric cuts that, according to Musk himself, has already been Tested at double vacuum pressure.
“Combine aesthetics and functionality – Musk himself explained – was one of the challenges”. And although these models will not be used for space walks, they will will protect astronauts from any possible loss of cabin pressure During flight. During this design process, the owner of Space X and also of Tesla Motors, has worked with the designer José Fernández, responsible for the costumes of Batman, The Avengers and IronMan.
Who has not wanted to be left behind is Boeing, in a jumpsuit that includes touchscreen gloves and Rebook boots . The hulls will be soft and not stiff as before. A suit designed for crew members to take you aboard the CST-100 Starliner capsule , which will make flights in Earth orbit and will travel to the Space Station. Each suit weighs about 9 kilos, a little less than the 13.6 weighed by NASA
With all this, we must be attentive to everything that comes from 2020.
The CST-100 Starliner capsule crew suit