Space Missions Scheduled in 2022

The developing technical and scientific infrastructure continues to push the limits of our universe full of unknowns. Space exploration has accelerated in recent years like never before. In 2022, we will witness many new researches.

In the last days of 2021, when we witnessed many new developments, we brought together the space stories waiting for us in 2022. Let’s take a look at the space missions that await us this year, from Jupiter to Mars, from the Moon to the depths of the universe.

The inaugural flight of NASA’s Space Launch System will take place

The opening of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS rocket) will be one of the most interesting events of the year. The first flight of NASA’s 332-foot-high (101 meters) launch system SLS rocket is scheduled for next spring. With the first flight, it is thought that NASA’s Artemis mission, which includes lunar research, will be activated. An uncrewed Orion spacecraft will return to Earth after traveling 280,000 miles (450,000 km) as part of the Artemis 1 mission. The successful launch of the SLS rocket will form the basis of the Artemis 2 project, which is targeted for 2023.

SpaceX’s Starship will make its first orbital flight

SpaceX will consist of the reusable Starship megarocket, the Super Heavy Booster 4 and the Starship prototype, making it the tallest rocket ever built, with a total height of 394 feet (120 meters). Launched from the Star Base facility in boca Chica, Texas, the rocket will enter Earth orbit but complete less than a full rotation of the planet and land in the Pacific Ocean. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated that he is prepared for the possibility that it may fail, considering that there are many risks associated with this initial launch. But even if the first failed, the company believes it’s possible to launch more than 12 Starship rockets throughout the year, and one Starship rocket could reach orbit within the next year.

Also, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Arianespace’s Ariane 6, Mitsubishi’s H3, and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur are among the rockets expected to make their maiden flights in 2022.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner to perform its second uncrewed test

Boeing is developing the CST-100 Starliner capsule as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Starliner had an unsuccessful boot test in 2019. It was repaired in October 2021. According to Boeing’s statement, the CST-100 Starliner, which is ready for flight, will be tested for the second time in May 2022.

Another rover to be launched to Mars

The European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin rover and Russia’s Kazachok spacecraft are also scheduled to launch in September 2022. Rosalind Franklin will collect surface samples on Mars. The traveler, who turns the samples he collects into dust, will carry out detailed chemical, spectral and physical analyzes with his laboratory.

Space probes will continue to explore space

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket will attempt to launch NASA’s Psyche probe into space in 2026. According to NASA, this mission could reveal unknowns about the structure of Psyche’s surface, its age, and the conditions under which it was formed. Test flights of the Falcon Heavy rocket will begin in August 2022.

Probes launched into space will continue their work. NASA’s Juno spacecraft will fly close to Jupiter’s moon Europa in September. Parker Solar Probe, managed by NASA, will continue solar research in 2022.

A helicopter will try to catch a falling rocket booster

Aerospace manufacturer Rocket Lab will attempt to catch a falling rocket booster in the sky in the first half of 2022. In the project, the booster will be captured and secured with a parachute system and a special sighting line. Rocket Lab, which carried out a successful test of the project in April 2020, aims to realize it in the first half of 2022.

Will the moon be reached?

No human will be able to reach the Moon in 2022, but landers and robots will make journeys to the Moon for us. Pittsburgh-based Astrobiots company Peregrine plans to send its Lunar Lander to the Moon in 2022. According to it, it will happen as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, where the space agency contracts with commercial partners. Equipped with 14 payloads of various types, the all-terrain vehicle will be launched atop a United Launch Alliance Centaur rocket. Houston-based Intuitive Machine, another partner of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, plans to send the Nova-C lander, which it hopes to complete in the first half of the year, to the Moon on the SpaceX2in Falcon 9 rocket.

In the third quarter of next year, India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission, which failed in July 2019, will be attempted to be reinstated. If the Indian Space Research Organization can accomplish this mission, India; It will be among the countries (USA, Russia and China) that can successfully land on the Moon. Another research to be done on the Moon in 2022 will be Japan’s Smart Lander mission. Japan’s first Moon mission will be to test lunar landing techniques, such as identifying optimal landing sites and avoiding craters. The spacecraft, developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will be launched in 2022.

We will continue to share with you all the developments we have achieved as a result of space missions and all kinds of studies in this field in 2022, as we have done so far.