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Future historians will regard 2024 as a remarkable year for space exploration.
From SpaceX successfully retrieving a massive rocket from the atmosphere to the inaugural privately financed spacewalk, as well as the initiation of a $5 billion mission aimed at investigating an ice-covered ocean moon, this year was filled with groundbreaking successes and innovations that brought humankind closer to the quest for the stars.
Here are the 10 most significant space exploration narratives from 2024.
1) SpaceX achieves significant milestones with its Starship megarocket
SpaceX created history when it captured the returning first-stage Super Heavy booster from its towering 400-foot (122 meters) Starship vehicle directly on top of the launch platform, significantly enhancing the potential for reusability within the spaceflight sector.
This momentous catch took place during Starship’s fifth test flight on October 13, following a long and challenging path. After two test missions in 2023 — both concluding in explosions — Starship’s Integrated Flight Test-3 (IFT-3) lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas on the morning of March 14. This flight marked the first time the world’s most powerful rocket reached orbital velocity.
Starship’s fourth flight, which occurred on June 6, saw additional advancements, with the Super Heavy booster executing a gentle splashdown in the ocean. However, it was Flight 5 that revolutionized reusable rockets. Following takeoff, Super Heavy made its way back to Starbase, where it was seized mid-air by the launch tower’s “chopsticks,” an unmatched maneuver that seemed almost lifted from a science fiction film.
SpaceX accomplished one more Starship launch this year, on November 19. Although the company intended to replicate the booster-catching success, Super Heavy instead descended into the Gulf of Mexico due to a communication failure with the launch tower. Looking ahead, SpaceX is ambitious for more launches, with 25 Starship flights anticipated for 2025.
Read more: SpaceX captures massive Starship booster with ‘chopsticks’ during historic Flight 5 rocket launch and landing (video)
2) Trailblazing moon landings
This year, we observed two moon landings that made history. On February 15, Intuitive Machines’ hexagonal-cylindrical lander — known as Odysseus (drawing from Trojan War legend) — launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
On the evening of February 22, the robotic lander successfully touched down near the moon’s southern pole, making it the first U.S. craft to softly land on the lunar surface since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Odysseus was also the first privately funded lander to accomplish this feat. It carried 12 payloads from NASA and commercial entities, prepared for various tasks on the lunar surface.
Additionally this year, Japan became the fifth nation to land on the moon, achieving this on January 19. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s robotic Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) successfully landed within 328 feet (100 meters) of JAXA’s target site. Nicknamed “moon sniper,” SLIM’s accurate landing was a noteworthy accomplishment for a lunar probe.
Despite the impressive precision of the moon lander, SLIM landed upside down due to an engine malfunction during descent. This caused problems for the probe’s solar panels, which couldn’t power SLIM in the hours post-landing, as they were in shadow. Even though the lander went into hibernation mode periodically, JAXA established contact with SLIM until April, ultimately declaring SLIM inactive in August.
3) Boeing Starliner’s inaugural astronaut launch, followed by drama
Following several delays and aborted launches, on June 5 Boeing’s Starliner capsule, engineered as an astronaut transport for NASA, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — marking the first occasion humans have traveled on an Atlas rocket into space since Gordon Cooper’s Mercury-Atlas 9 mission in 1963.
The Starliner capsule launched with seasoned NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams, both of whom are former U.S. Navy test pilots. This was also the first instance of astronauts launching on an Atlas V.
After one failed docking attempt, Starliner successfully reached the International Space Station (ISS) for a June 6 meeting, where Wilmore and Williams were expected to spend approximately a week conducting tests. However, Starliner faced complications related to its thrusters and helium leaks that appeared after the capsule achieved orbit.
NASA and Boeing prolonged the capsule’s stay at the ISS to investigate the thruster issues. Ultimately, NASA opted against allowing Williams and Wilmore to return on Starliner, considering it too perilous. Therefore, on September 7, Starliner returned to Earth — landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico — without the astronauts, who remained in orbit aboard the ISS.
Currently, Williams and Wilmore are slated to return to Earth no sooner than March 2025. The Starliner astronauts will make their way back aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, the one responsible for the company’s Crew-10 mission.
4) China’s Chang’e 6 mission returns samples from the moon’s far side to Earth
This year, China’s automated Chang’e 6 mission successfully brought samples from the moon’s far side back to Earth for the first time in history. Chang’e 6 was launched on May 3 from the Wenchang Space Launch Site situated on Hainan Island, in southern China. This mission comprises four components: a lunar orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and an Earth-return module. The Chang’e 6 lunar probe ascended into orbit aboard a Long March 5 rocket.
On June 1, the Chang’e 6 lander made landfall in the southern area of the unexplored Apollo crater located in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin to collect and drill distinctive samples, which were subsequently transferred to the ascender and propelled back into lunar orbit. The subsequent phase involved the transfer of samples between the ascender and its orbital module. The rendezvous was a success, and on June 6, the two spacecraft docked, shifted the samples, and then undocked.
Following that, the Chang’e 6 orbiter executed its moon-to-Earth transfer injection maneuver, allowing the 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of lunar specimens to return to our planet. The sample capsule landed on June 25 via parachutes in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Initial assessments conducted by scientists on the lunar samples collected by Chang’e indicated the samples possess a lower density in comparison to other lunar materials that have been returned. Further investigation could be crucial for gaining insights into the moon’s origins and evolution.
Related: The moon: Everything you need to know about Earth’s companion
5) SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission
SpaceX made history with the Polaris Dawn mission, marking the first-ever private spacewalk. Supported by billionaire Jared Isaacman, the inaugural mission of the Polaris Program was initially scheduled to launch on August 26, but was postponed for additional pre-flight checks and subsequently pushed back again due to unfavorable launch and return conditions.
The mission eventually took off on September 10, with the Crew Dragon capsule Resilience being carried by a Falcon 9 rocket to enter an elliptical orbit around the Earth. On the first day of this five-day Polaris Dawn mission, Resilience achieved a maximum altitude of 870 miles (1,401 kilometers), surpassing any other crewed spacecraft in Earth orbit throughout history.
Aside from Isaacman, the team included former U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel Scott Poteet, serving as the mission’s pilot, along with SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. Utilizing newly designed SpaceX spacesuits, Isaacman partially exited Resilience for a spacewalk on September 12, with Gillis following shortly after.
The mission also conducted scientific and engineering experiments, such as testing internet connectivity in space via communication with SpaceX’s Starlink network. On September 15, the Polaris Dawn crew capsule safely splashed down off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. During the mission, Gillis and Menon set the record for the highest-flying women, eclipsing the previous record established by NASA astronaut Kathryn Sullivan during the STS-31 space shuttle mission in 1990.
6) Europa Clipper launches toward Jupiter’s intriguing ocean moon
NASA’s eagerly awaited Europa Clipper mission to the icy Jupiter ocean moon Europa lifted off on October 14, soaring skyward aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The $5 billion Europa Clipper signifies years of efforts and aspirations to determine whether this distant moon could potentially harbor life.
Researchers believe that beneath the icy shell of Europa, there exists a liquid ocean of saltwater. This solar-powered orbiter — regarded as one of the most advanced spacecraft ever constructed — is set to be the first to examine the habitability of an oceanic world. After utilizing the gravitational forces of Mars and Earth as a slingshot, the Europa Clipper is anticipated to reach its target in 2030 after covering a distance of 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers).
The U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón, composed a poem, which appears engraved in her handwriting on the spacecraft’s vault plate, commemorating the momentous occasion. In November, the orbiter successfully deployed two scientific instruments, including the magnetometer’s boom and antennas for Europa Clipper’s radar instrument, which will remain extended throughout the entire journey to Jupiter’s moon.
7) Mars helicopter Ingenuity bids farewell
The robotic helicopter landed on Mars alongside NASA’s Perseverance rover in February 2021, assigned the task of accomplishing five technology-demonstrating flights on the Red Planet. After completing seventy-two flights, NASA officially bid farewell to Ingenuity on April 16 of this year, following damage to its rotors during a rough landing on the challenging Martian surface.
Weighing in at 4 pounds (1.8 kg), Ingenuity became the first aircraft to ever achieve flight on the Red Planet, a remarkable accomplishment given Mars’s sparse atmosphere. Once it became evident that the rotorcraft would surpass the initial five flights and its mission was extended, Ingenuity transitioned into a role serving as a scout for Perseverance.
Ingenuity demonstrated the potential for drones to fly in Mars’ atmosphere, inspiring prospects for future aerial vehicles on the planet. Even though the helicopter is no longer in flight, its avionics battery sensors remain operational. On December 11, mission team members announced that Ingenuity can continue to exist in a new role as a weather station, recording telemetry and capturing images to store onboard.
Related: After accident on Mars, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter could survive as a weather station for 20 years
8) ULA unveils its powerful new Vulcan Centaur rocket
This year marked the inaugural two certification launches for United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) new Vulcan Centaur rocket, equipped with a pair of BE-4 first-stage engines developed by Blue Origin. Aiming to replace ULA’s older Atlas and Delta rockets, Vulcan Centaur ascended for its first launch on January 8 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying a robotic lunar lander known as Peregrine, which was constructed by the
Pittsburgh firm Astrobotic.
While the launch proceeded smoothly, Peregrine encountered issues due to a defective helium pressure control valve and failed to reach the moon. The lunar lander drifted through space for over a week before being directed back for a controlled disintegration in Earth’s atmosphere.
Vulcan’s second certification launch, which took place on Oct. 4, flew without a paying client. Just over 30 seconds post-launch, a nozzle on one of Vulcan’s solid rocket boosters (SRBs) malfunctioned, causing the rocket to deviate, before the main engines corrected the trajectory and the rocket successfully completed its mission. Following this, Vulcan is set to conduct its inaugural national security operation for the U.S. Space Force, presently planned for early 2025.
The new Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket for the European Space Agency (ESA) also made its inaugural launch this year, on July 9 from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The Ariane 5 was decommissioned about a year prior to the first Ariane 6 launch, leaving Europe temporarily incapable of deploying large satellites on a rocket of its own.
9) NASA cancels VIPER lunar rover mission
NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) was poised to elevate lunar exploration by demonstrating the capabilities of AI in space. The mission was designed for the robotic VIPER to land near the moon’s south pole to seek out water and other resources to aid astronauts who will set foot on the lunar surface during NASA’s Artemis missions.
However, the scientific community was taken aback when NASA terminated the VIPER mission, a decision the agency publicized on July 17. The choice to discontinue the VIPER initiative was primarily due to financial considerations, despite its previous successes. After investing approximately $450 million in the program, NASA opted to cease operations. The agency anticipated saving about $84 million in development expenses by halting the lunar lander project.
In the wake of the announcement, NASA has explored whether other entities might be interested in utilizing the rover as it stands. Another alternative, NASA noted, is to repurpose the lunar lander’s scientific instruments and components for future lunar missions. Thus, although VIPER’s initial mission is no longer viable, the lunar lander might continue to exist in another capacity.
10) Oleg Kononenko sets record for most time spent in space
Soviet and Russian cosmonauts have logged extensive time in space. They occupy all top five positions on the list for most total time in space. This year, 60-year-old Valery Polyakov set a new record with 1,110 days in space — a remarkable milestone for total time spent off Earth by any individual in history. Polyakov also holds the record for the longest consecutive days in space, having spent 438 days aboard Russia’s Mir space station in the mid-1990s.
The record for the most individuals in Earth orbit simultaneously — 19 — was established this year on Sept. 11, when three individuals embarked on a Russian Soyuz capsule to the ISS. This surpassed the prior record of 17 people in orbit, which was achieved in May 2023.
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