Global Space Missions in News

Context: The year 2023 marked a significant period for space exploration, with achievements such as NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission successfully retrieving a sample from an asteroid and India's Chandrayaan-3 mission exploring the lunar south pole area.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Mission 

OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) Mission 

This Spacecraft travelled to a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu (formerly 1999 RQ36) and collected a sample of rocks and dust from the surface.

Benefit of the Mission

This mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.

Artemis Plan

1. In The Artemis mission, NASA wants to land the first woman and first person of colour on the Moon.
2. It will send humans to the moon for the first time since 1972
3. This will be achieved by collaborating with commercial and international partners and establishing the first long-term presence on the Moon.

Artemis-I 

In this NASA sent an uncrewed capsule into orbit around the moon in 2022.

Artemis-II 

1. Artemis II is the first crewed step in this plan. 
2. In this four astronauts are planned to be on board during the 10-day mission.
3. It will put the astronauts into orbit around the Moon before returning them home.

CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) Initiative 

Under this initiative NASA is working with many companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface.

1. These companies, ranging in size, bid on delivering payloads for NASA. 
2. This includes everything from payload integration and operations, to launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon.

Europa Clipper

This mission will explore one of Jupiter’s largest moons, Europa.

About Europa

1. Europa is slightly smaller than Earth’s moon and has a surface made of ice. 
2. Beneath this icy surface, Europa likely harbours a saltwater ocean that scientists expect contains over twice as much water as all the Earth's oceans combined.

Objective of the Mission: To investigate whether Europa’s ocean could be a suitable habitat for extraterrestrial life. 

Working: By flying past Europa nearly 50 times to study the moon’s icy shell, its surface’s geology and its subsurface ocean. 

VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)

It is a robot the size of a golf cart that NASA will use to explore the moon’s south pole.

This robotic mission is designed to search for volatiles, which are molecules that easily vaporise, like water and carbon dioxide, at lunar temperatures. 

Benefit of the Mission 

These materials that will be collected  in the mission could provide resources for future human exploration on the moon.

About the Robot 

1. The VIPER robot will rely on batteries, heat pipes and radiators throughout its 100-day mission.
2. It will handle lunar conditions ranging from scorching 224°F (107°C) in daylight to freezing -240°C in shadowed regions.

SIMPLEx (Small, Innovative Missions for PLanetary Exploration)

The objective of these missions is to save costs by tagging along on other launches as what is called a rideshare, or secondary payload.

Few Examples under SIMPLEx

Lunar Trailblazer

1. Like VIPER, Lunar Trailblazer will look for water on the moon.
2. VIPER will explore the moon's south pole, studying a specific area, while Lunar Trailblazer will orbit, mapping water molecules and measuring surface temperature.

Prime-1 Mission 

1. The PRIME-1 mission is Lunar Trailblazer’s ride.
2. PRIME-1 will drill into the moon. 
3. It's a test run for the kind of drill that VIPER will use. 

DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test)

1. In this mission the Didymos-Dimorphous asteroid system was used to test a planetary defence technique called 'kinetic impact’.
2. The kinetic impact technique involves smashing something into an object to alter its path. 
3. The force of the impact was so significant that it actually changed Dimorphos's orbit. 

This technique could prove useful if humanity ever discovers a potentially hazardous object on a collision course with Earth and needs to redirect it.

Japanese Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s Mission 

MMX (Martian Moon eXploration)

1. The objective of the mission is to study Mars' moons, Phobos and Deimos. 
2. The primary aim is to identify the origin of Mars' moons, Phobos and Deimos. 
3. Scientists are uncertain if they are captured asteroids or formed from existing debris in Martian orbit.
4. MMX will also land on Phobos' surface and collect a sample before returning to Earth.

European Space Agency’s Mission 

Hera

1. Hera is a mission by the European Space Agency to visit the Didymos-Dimorphous asteroid system that NASA’s DART mission visited in 2022.
2. It will study the physical properties of the asteroids.