As 2024 concludes, 2025 is poised to become a critical period in the realm of space exploration. In terms of leadership, billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman was selected as NASA’s next administrator by President-elect Donald Trump earlier this month. The CEO of Shift4 Payments, Isaacman has traveled to space on two occasions with SpaceX and is anticipated to be a prominent supporter of the commercial space sector.
In terms of commercial space, SpaceX launched its newest radio satellite for SiriusXM from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in December. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe marked Christmas Eve by approaching the sun closer than any previous probe has. Initially launched in 2018, the probe has slowly approached the sun through approximately 22 orbits and is anticipated to travel 3.8 million miles from the sun, passing through its corona during a flyby that will gather important data on the star’s atmosphere.
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Not every space mission in December was a success. The Japanese startup Space One, for instance, experienced its Kairos rocket self-destruct soon after taking off from Kushimoto in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, on December 18. The spacecraft, said to have experienced a malfunction that diverted it from its planned route, signifies Space One’s second unsuccessful attempt this year to make Japan’s first private company to launch a satellite into orbit.
The new year is anticipated to kick off energetically with a range of thrilling space missions from different government bodies and private aerospace firms.
Space missions to watch in Jan 2025
Jan 11: SpaceX’s seventh Starship test:
According to documents from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), SpaceX is anticipated to finish its seventh Starship test at the start of 2025. Reaching close to 400 feet in height, Starship is the globe’s biggest and strongest rocket, playing a key role in Elon Musk’s goal to eventually inhabit Mars. Taking off from SpaceX’s location in Boca Chica, Texas, the upcoming flight test will aim to achieve a controlled landing of the rocket’s upper-stage capsule in the Indian Ocean while retrieving its Super Heavy booster at the company’s launch site—an accomplishment that was first successfully achieved during SpaceX’s fifth test flight in October.
TBD: NASA explores water on the moon:
NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer is scheduled to commence its lunar orbit next month in a mission aimed at improving human knowledge of water resources on the moon. The satellite, set to be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, aims to chart the quantity, shape, and positioning of water on the moon while orbiting at a distance of 60 miles.
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TBD: Firefly Aerospace shoots for the moon:
Firefly, located in Cedar Park, Texas, is preparing for a lunar mission titled “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” which will involve its Blue Ghost lander being launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center around mid-January. The lander will orbit the moon for approximately 45 days before reaching a volcanic formation called Mons Latreille, situated within the Mare Crisium basin, where it will conduct research for an entire lunar day (about 14 Earth days). Firefly’s mission aims to transport ten NASA payloads to the moon’s surface, featuring a vacuum for collecting moon dust and an X-ray imager examining the impact of solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field on geomagnetic disturbances.
