The year 2020 did not turn out exactly as we would have liked down on Earth. But in space, it did prove to be momentous.
SpaceX and NASA delivered astronauts to the International Space Station (twice!) aboard the Crew Dragon capsule, Japan and China brought back extraterrestrial rock to Earth and NASA scooped up some space chunks from asteroid Bennu. Excitement for Mars peaked in July, when three missions departed for the red planet. The Mars-bound spacecraft, from NASA, China and the United Arab Emirates, are en route now. They’re set to arrive early in 2021.
Starship SN9 test (Early 2021)
Remember the incredible explosion of SpaceX’s SN8 prototype in December? SpaceX considers that a success on its way to a fully fledged spacecraft that can get to orbit and — eventually — to Mars. In late 2020 or early 2021, Elon Musk’s spaceflight company expects to send the next numbered prototype on its way. Its three powerful Raptor engines are attached, and it has been wheeled onto the launchpad, so the prototype is likely to fly early in 2021.
NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars (Feb. 18)
Perseverance will touch down on Mars on Thursday, February 18, 2021, at approximately 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET). It will have to go through the famous Seven Minutes of Terror, slowing down from an extreme speed of around 12,000 miles per hour to a full stop on the surface in just 420 seconds. It’s set to be a huge year for Martian robots and specifically, the quest to find signs of ancient life on the red planet. Along with Perseverance, a Chinese rover and lander will also be putting Mars dirt under the microscope. But wait… there’s more! Around the same time as Perseverance is arriving, the United Arab Emirates Hope Mars probe should be inserting itself into orbit and will begin to study the Martian atmosphere.
Boeing Starliner OFT-2 launch (March 29)
The CST-100 Starliner, a cone-shaped spacecraft designed to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, has had its fair share of ups and downs. The first Orbital Flight Test in December 2019 (wow, it was that long ago?) experienced an “anomaly” with the spacecraft’s clock which meant it didn’t reach the ISS as it had intended and, instead, safely landed back in the desert two days later.
The Large Hadron Collider powers up again (March 2021)
The Large Hadron Collider, the highest-energy particle collider on the planet, has been powered down since December 10, 2018. In March, scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) flick it back on again. The collider has been instrumental in testing predictions of theories in particle physics, including discovery of the Higgs boson, or the “God particle” (just don’t call it that in front of any particle physicists). Its third observational run or “Run 3” should kick off in 2022, with a period of commissioning and magnet training to get things up to scratch for examining the atomic world in March. It will then be shut down in 2025 and upgraded again, for its fourth run in 2027.
Total Lunar Eclipse of the Flower Moon (May 26)
When the Earth’s shadow covers the moon, you get a lunar eclipse. When the entire moon is shadowed, that’s a total lunar eclipse. And when there’s a full moon in May, it’s known as a “Flower Moon.” That’s how you get a total lunar eclipse of the flower moon… and that’s the first big celestial event of 2021.
Ring of Fire eclipse (June 10)
The Johnny Cash eclipse, as it’s affectionately known by nobody, will occur over parts of the Northern Hemisphere on June 10. A ring of fire eclipse occurs when the moon only partially blocks sunlight, leaving a dazzling ring of fire in the sky. The most recent eclipse (an “annular” eclipse, in scientific parlance) occurred in 2020 and it was spectacular. The best places to watch will be across Russia, Canada and Greenland, but there will be plenty of livestreams and places to watch this one.
Will Chandrayaan-3 launch in 2021?
In 2019, the Indian space agency, ISRO, attempted to make history by becoming the fourth nation to soft-land on the surface of the moon. Unfortunately, things went awry. A software glitch caused the spacecraft, Chandrayaan-2, to careen into the moon’s surface. The mission was designed to land at the lunar south pole, which would have been a historic first. Almost as soon as Chandrayaan-2’s unfortunate ending came to light, India announced it would try again,with Chandrayaan-3.
The mission was slated to launch in 2020, but pandemic. Will it launch in 2021? That’s what ISRO is shooting for. ♦
(The story originally published by CNET)
