The year 2024 is drawing to a close. Here follows a list of some of the most significant space events of the year that was.
Japan and Intuitive Machines land on the moon — sort of
2024 saw a number of moon landing attempts.
Astrobotic attempted a landing with its Peregrine probe, but failed due to a propellant leak. After an elliptical orbit, the company sent the Peregrine into the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 18.
JAXA, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, landed its SLIM probe on the lunar surface on Jan. 19. Because of an engine failure, SLIM had problems aligning the probe’s solar panels with the sun, SLIM returned a wealth of scientific data. It lasted through April 28. Ground controllers, after numerous attempts to reestablish contact, concluded the mission on Aug. 23.
Intuitive Machines became the first commercial company to touch down on the moon with its Nova-C lander on Feb. 22. The lander tipped over on its side shortly after touch down. Nevertheless, it was able to fulfill most of its scientific objectives.
Boeing Starliner strands two American astronauts in space
On June 5, 2024, the troubled Boeing Starliner, developed under NASA’s Commercial Crew program, lifted off atop an Atlas V rocket carrying astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams for an eight-day stint at the International Space Station (ISS). The Starliner’s thrusters malfunctioned as it approached the ISS. NASA investigated the glitch for two months before concluding that the spacecraft was too dangerous to carry Wilmore and Williams back to Earth.
NASA successfully returned the Starliner to Earth without a crew on Sept. 7, 2024. The two stranded astronauts, whose eight-day cruise had turned into a nine-month marathon, are due to be returned to Earth on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon in March 2025.
Because of the Boeing Starliner snafu, it is doubtful that Starliner will ever become an operational alternative to the Crew Dragon.
The Polaris Dawn mission and the first commercial spacewalk
Polaris Dawn, a nearly five-day flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, which included billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, launched on Sept. 10, 2024. The flight not only included the first commercial spacewalk conducted by Isaacman and crew member Sarah Gillis, it entered an orbit that, for a while, sent the spacecraft to 1,400 kilometers from Earth, the farthest any has ventured since Apollo 17, over 50 years ago. The spacewalk tested commercial EVA suits developed for the mission.
The flight also featured the first musical performance in space and Earth as Gillis played “Rey’s Theme” from “Star Wars,” accompanied by various orchestras on Earth. The performance is being used to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and El Sistema USA.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Isaacman to be NASA administrator on Dec. 4.
SpaceX catches a falling rocket
SpaceX has tested its Starship rocket six times, most recently with President-elect Trump, Elon Musk, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) observing. But the fifth test, which took place on Oct. 13, was most impressive.
The two-stage rocket rose into the Texas sky. When the SuperHeavy first stage separated from the Starship second stage, it descended back to the launch site. The Mechazilla arms on the launch tower caught the massive rocket and lowered it gently to the pad. The feat was a giant leap toward making the giant rocket operational and reusable, capable of sending humans back to the moon, on to Mars, and beyond.
Recently, the FAA has provided a launch license, paving the way for a seventh test in early January 2025.
The Europa Clipper launches for Jupiter’s ice-shrouded moon
On Oct. 14, a Falcon Heavy launched the Europa Clipper on a five-and-a-half-year voyage to Jupiter. The probe, once it is in orbit around the Solar System’s largest planet, will make repeated passes near the ice shrouded moon Europa.
Scientists believe that a warm water ocean resides beneath Europa’s ice layer. Possibly, some form of life resides in that ocean, never exposed to the sun. If Europa Clipper finds life, the discovery will be one of the most scientifically significant in history.
A now former congressman named John Culberson was responsible for championing the Europa Clipper, making sure that it received funding until it was formally backed by NASA and the Obama administration. Originally the probe was going to be launched on a Space Launch System rocket but was switched to the cheaper, easier to launch Falcon Heavy.
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Mark Whittington, who writes frequently about space policy, has published a political study of space exploration entitled “Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?” as well as “The Moon, Mars and Beyond,” and, most recently, “Why is America Going Back to the Moon?” He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner. He is published in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Hill, USA Today, the LA Times and the Washington Post, among other venues.