Buzz
NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was founded on October 1, 1958, in response to the intense 'space race' of the 20th century. During this period, the United States and the Soviet Union fiercely competed to achieve groundbreaking technological advancements and dominate space exploration. The United States emerged victorious when NASA’s Apollo mission successfully landed a man on the Moon in 1969.
Since its inception, NASA has launched nearly 200 missions, both crewed and uncrewed. However, in 2010, the agency faced a significant setback when the shuttle program was discontinued, and the replacement Constellation program—intended to return astronauts to the Moon—was canceled by the Obama administration.
Despite this challenge, NASA continued its quest to explore the cosmos, with missions like those involving the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. But the journey doesn't end there. Here’s a roundup of 10 of NASA's most intriguing upcoming missions set to soar into space.
10. Parker Solar Probe
In May 2017, NASA unveiled its groundbreaking new mission: a daring venture that will do something extraordinary—fly directly into the Sun.
The spacecraft is set to launch in 2018, aiming to travel within 6.4 million kilometers (4 million miles) of the Sun—an incredibly close distance in astronomical terms. The goal of this mission is to gather essential data about the Sun's structure and the enigmatic heating process that has puzzled researchers for years.
A curious aspect of the Sun is its temperature: the surface reaches a scorching 5,500 degrees Celsius (10,000 °F), yet the corona, located above the surface, is even hotter, with temperatures soaring to 1.9 million degrees Celsius ( million °F).
Take Earth as an example: as you ascend through the atmosphere, temperatures typically decrease. The Sun’s reverse pattern, where the outer layers are hotter than the surface, raises questions—questions that have led to the launch of the Parker Solar Probe.
This mission captivates for several reasons. First, it will provide scientists with the answers they've been seeking. Second, it will venture unbelievably close to the Sun, enduring extreme temperatures that reach thousands of degrees. Third, it will become the fastest human-made object in history, soaring at an astonishing 692,000 kilometers per hour (430,000 mph).
The probe is expected to reach its destination in 2025.
9. Europa Clipper
The goal of the Europa Clipper mission is to tackle one of humanity's greatest questions: Is there life beyond Earth? In the 2020s, this spacecraft will embark on an exciting mission to search for signs of extraterrestrial life on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons.
Recent findings have revealed that Europa possesses an ocean beneath its icy surface, and scientists are eager to determine if this ocean could support life. They will be searching for essential factors such as liquid water, suitable chemical conditions, and an energy source.
To gather this crucial information, the Clipper will conduct flybys of Europa, collecting as much data as possible. This process will be repeated 40–45 times before the spacecraft embarks on its multi-year journey back to Earth.
8. JUICE
The JUpiter ICy Moons Explorer, abbreviated as JUICE, is a mission led by the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA is collaborating with NASA, which will contribute vital instruments and other resources to support the mission.
The JUICE mission is slated for launch in 2022. It will focus on exploring Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede, three of Jupiter's four Galilean moons. The mission’s goal is to enhance our understanding of these moons' composition, environments, and evolutionary histories, including investigating their potential for habitability. While similar to the Europa Clipper mission, JUICE will gather a broader range of data.
Like the Europa Clipper, this mission will take quite some time. JUICE will not launch until 2022, and it will require an additional 7.5 years to reach Jupiter. After that, the mission itself and the return journey to Earth will take almost eight years. To an astronomer accustomed to vast distances, this is just part of the journey!
7. Asteroid Redirect Mission
As its name implies, the goal of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) is to study asteroids in an effort to safeguard Earth from facing a fate similar to that of the dinosaurs.
Scheduled for the 2020s, this mission will target a large, nearby asteroid. Once the spacecraft arrives, a massive robotic arm will capture a boulder from the asteroid and place it into lunar orbit. Astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft will then be able to explore it in greater detail. This mission aims to gather vital data on asteroids, which astronomers can use to improve asteroid identification and prepare for potential threats to Earth.
Equally important, the ARM will play a crucial role in the goal of sending humans to Mars by the 2030s. The technology developed for this mission could be key to making that journey possible. While studying asteroids, astronauts and scientists will also test the necessary tools and systems that could help transport humans and cargo to the Red Planet.
As promising as this mission is, it will face delays. The 2018 budget released by President Trump includes cuts to the ARM program. However, it does provide funding for the Orion spacecraft.
6. Orion Spacecraft
The Orion spacecraft represents NASA’s ambitious next step in sending humans beyond Earth's orbit, with the goal of reaching Mars. Orion is built to endure extreme conditions, including intense heat, high speeds, radiation, and other harsh environments. Unlike a regular shuttle, Orion is designed to withstand challenges that would be impossible for traditional shuttles to endure—an impressive feat in aeronautical engineering.
Orion will be launched aboard the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, capable of propelling the spacecraft beyond the Moon. While SLS is still under construction, Orion has already undergone a successful test flight, the first of which took place in 2014.
Orion's next major mission will involve traveling to a nearby asteroid to support the asteroid redirect mission in the 2020s. However, its ultimate destination is Mars, with plans for a crewed mission to the Red Planet in the 2030s.
5. Mars 2020 Rover
In line with the Mars focus, the Mars Rover, slated for launch in 2020, marks a significant advancement in our exploration of Mars. This vehicle, roughly the size of a car, will traverse the Martian surface, gathering crucial data along the way.
NASA often draws comparisons between the robot and a living organism: It has a body, brain, arms, hands, legs, eyes, and ears. In essence, the rover is capable of performing a variety of tasks. It runs on battery power, is insulated, and features an internal heater to withstand the cold temperatures of Mars, all of which ensure its operation in such extreme conditions.
The rover's “brain,” as NASA calls it, refers to the onboard computer system, which processes the data it collects from various sources. The rover is equipped with an arm and hand that can extend to gather samples, such as rocks, to be returned to Earth for further study.
Additionally, the rover is equipped with “senses.” Its cameras, antennae, and other technology allow it to be aware of its surroundings, enabling it to navigate and document its environment. The rover will also communicate with mission control on Earth through its antennae.
In the end, the Mars Rover of 2020 will make significant contributions to the ongoing mission to explore and better understand Mars.
4. Euclid
Euclid is a mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) that NASA joined in 2013. This mission aims to gather information about dark energy and dark matter. Dark energy is a mysterious force that opposes gravity and drives the universe's expansion. Although it constitutes about 68 percent of the universe, very little is known about it.
Dark matter, despite its similar name, is completely distinct from dark energy. Dark matter accounts for about 27 percent of the universe. Unlike ordinary matter, which is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons, dark matter doesn't have the same composition. That's essentially all scientists know about it so far.
The Euclid telescope is scheduled to launch in 2020 and will begin its mission of gathering cosmological data from two billion galaxies to help improve our understanding of the universe’s composition and how it has evolved.
3. Psyche
In 2022, the Psyche spacecraft will be launched on a mission to an asteroid also named Psyche, which orbits between Mars and Jupiter. Unlike typical asteroids made of rock, this one is primarily composed of nickel and iron. Scientists believe it is the metal core remnant of a planet from the early days of the solar system’s formation.
The data gathered from this asteroid could provide valuable insights into the core structures of terrestrial planets like Earth. It could also help us understand how the solar system came together, especially the violent collisions and upheavals that shaped it.
2. MAIA
NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) mission is incredibly relevant. Its main task is to monitor cyclones on Earth. However, its most critical role is to investigate air pollution.
Orbiting just above Earth, MAIA will observe various segments of polluted air from different regions and measure the different properties of the particles within. This data will then be compared with human health metrics, such as cardiovascular health, to identify any potential links or causal relationships.
1. WFIRST
The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) takes on two major goals at once. Its mission is to gather data on both exoplanets and dark energy.
WFIRST has a few objectives when it comes to exoplanets (planets outside our solar system). One is to continue the count that began with the Kepler mission. WFIRST will keep track of the growing number of exoplanets in the universe.
Another task for WFIRST is to develop cutting-edge technology to better characterize and detect exoplanets through direct imaging, one of the most challenging methods. This technique involves capturing a direct image of the exoplanet, but the brightness of its parent star often makes this task nearly impossible. WFIRST aims to overcome this obstacle.
Regarding dark energy, WFIRST is focused on uncovering its nature. The telescope is also studying the accelerated expansion of the universe, which appears to be linked to dark energy. Together with the Euclid mission, WFIRST could provide valuable insights. NASA plans to launch the telescope in the early 2020s, where it will operate for six years in space.
