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List of Space Missions in 2023: The year 2022 was a watershed moment in human spaceflight. The year saw many firsts for human spaceflight, from NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, which charted humanity’s path back to the Moon, to the DART mission, which successfully redirected an asteroid. 2023 will also be a significant year for human spaceflight, with many ground-breaking missions beginning and ending.
The OSIRIS-Rex mission is scheduled to return to Earth with samples from the asteroid Bennu in September 2023. NASA intends to launch the Psyche spacecraft shortly after the return of OSIRIS-Rex, which will investigate the origins of planetary cores by studying the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche.
We’ve already looked into a number of missions that are headed to the Moon in 2023. Here, we have put together a list of other important spaceflight milestones that will happen in the year 2023.
Gaganyaan Mission
According to PTI, ISRO will begin a series of test flights for India’s first human space flight in February 2023. The space agency also stated that it intends to test the mission’s crew module using the heavy-lift Chinook helicopter and the C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft. As part of the Gaganyaan mission, the module is designed to carry astronauts into orbit for three dates.
The Gaganyaan mission was first announced in 2018, with a launch date of 2022. However, due to pandemic-related delays, India’s first manned space mission will not launch until the end of 2024 or early 2025.
As it transports the three astronauts on board, the crew module must provide oxygen, remove carbon dioxide, remove humidity, and maintain a living temperature. The Indian space agency has shortlisted four candidates to go on the mission and they have already undergone initial training in Russia. They are now undergoing further training at the Astronaut Training Facility in Bengaluru.
Chandrayaan-3
The ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission will be a follow-up to the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which failed to land on the Moon softly. Chandrayaan-3, like Chandrayaan-2, will carry a lunar lander and rover to Earth’s lone natural satellite. The mission is set to launch in June on a Launch Vehicle 3 (LVM3) rocket, formerly known as the GSLV 3.
The propulsion module of the mission will carry the lander and rover configuration to an orbit about 100 kilometers above the Moon’s surface. The module will also carry a payload called the Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE), which will study spectral and polarimetric measurements of Earth from lunar orbit.
Meanwhile, the lunar lander will carry instruments such as Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) to measure the thermal conductivity and temperature; Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) for measuring the seismicity around the landing site; Langmuir Probe (LP) to estimate the plasma density and its variations. A passive Laser Retroreflector Array from NASA will also hitch a ride aboard the lander.
Juice Mission
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission will be launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in April 2023. The Juice mission will conduct 35 flybys of Jupiter, gathering data on the gas giant and its three large ocean-bearing moons, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. In addition to thoroughly exploring Jupiter’s environment with the ten sensors aboard, the mission will characterize its moons as both planetary objects and potential habitat.
The Juice spacecraft will conduct in-depth observations of Jupiter’s complex environment, including magnetism, radiation, and plasma. After it completes its 35 flybys of Jupiter and its Moons, it will also become the first spacecraft to shift its orbit to Ganymede’s orbit.
Ganymede, the largest of the three moons, will be the primary scientific target of the Juice mission. It is the largest moon in the Solar System, larger than Pluto and Mercury combined. It is also the only moon with its own magnetic field. The only other solid bodies that produce a dipole field like Ganymede are Mercury and Earth.
Juice will also investigate the hidden oceans, magnetism, heating processes, tidal effects, orbits, surface activity, cores, compositions, atmospheres, and space environments of the Galilean moons to see if the conditions for life could have ever emerged on these three moons. The high-resolution mapping of the spacecraft will look for biologically important elements such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, magnesium, and iron.
OSIRIS-Rex Mission
In September 2016, the OSIRIS-REx mission was launched. It launched from the asteroid Bennu in 2021. The spacecraft is carrying asteroid samples and is scheduled to return them to Earth in September 2023. When the spacecraft reaches about 250 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, it will release a sample capsule that will land precisely at the US Air Force’s Utah Test and Training range.
According to NASA, asteroids like Bennu can serve as time capsules for our solar system’s early history. They preserve chemical signatures from a younger universe and may even contain samples of the ancient building blocks of life. The space agency will distribute some of the samples to scientists around the world but a large fraction of it will be preserved so that it can be studied by future generations with much more advanced technology.
Bennu is described by NASA as a “ancient relic of the solar system’s early days.” The asteroid has been around for more than 4.5 billion years, and its current composition was established within 10 million years of the solar system’s formation.
Bennu most likely separated from a much larger carbon-rich asteroid 700 million to two billion years ago. It is thought to have formed in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and has since drifted closer to Earth. Because it is so old, it may contain molecules that were involved in the early stages of life on Earth.
Visiting Asteroid Psyche
Following the return of OSIRIS-REx, NASA intends to launch the Psyche mission to study the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche. The asteroid orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter and is unique in that it appears to be the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet, one of the solar system’s building blocks.
Most rocky, terrestrial planets, including Earth, have metallic cores. However, these cores are difficult to reach because they are hidden deep within the planet. Because we can’t directly see or measure our planet’s core, the Psyche mission will provide a glimpse into the collisions and accretion that give rise to terrestrial planets.
A Multispectral Imager, a Gamma Ray and Neutron Spectrometer, a Magnetometer, and an X-band Gravity Science Investigation will be among the instruments aboard the Psyche spacecraft. The mission will also put to the test a new laser communication technology that communicates with the Earth using light at near-infrared wavelengths rather than radio waves.
Bonus:Newly-developed rockets
Aside from the numerous science missions planned for 2023, the year will also see several private space companies launch their new rockets for the first time. Arianespace’s Ariane 6, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Starship, and the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur are among the rockets set to launch for the first time this year.
Source:IE
