2021 promises an exhilarating lineup of space milestones, from Mars and lunar missions to the James Webb Space Telescope deployment, Starship prototypes, and SLS rocket tests. Here's a curated overview of key events drawing from decades of established space agency expertise.
Every 26 months, Earth and Mars align for cost-effective launches. This summer's window saw three nations seize the opportunity, building on proven orbital mechanics and planetary science.
Mars once hosted habitable environments—did life thrive there? NASA's dual missions address this: one collects and caches rock samples, the other retrieves them for Earth analysis with ESA collaboration, leveraging cutting-edge labs.
NASA's Perseverance rover kicks off this campaign, extending to 2032. Launched July 30, it targets a February 18 landing in Jezero Crater to sample aqueous-formed rocks.
Perseverance also tests Ingenuity, a helicopter drone. Its sole goal: powered flight on another world, a breakthrough informed by NASA's aeronautics heritage.
China's CNSA joins with Tianwen-1's first rover, probing Martian geology and subsurface water ice distribution. Arrival slated for April 2021, marking a new era of international presence.
The UAE's Hope orbiter, their inaugural interplanetary craft, enters a high elliptical orbit to study the atmosphere. Due February 9, 2021, success would rank them fifth—after NASA, Soviet Union, ESA, and ISRO.
2021 features multiple lunar landers to deepen our knowledge of the Moon's geology and resources, grounded in NASA's Artemis program and global partnerships.
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic's Peregrine One, for NASA, launches July 2021. This quadruped robot targets Lacus Mortis on the near side to validate navigation instruments for future missions.
Intuitive Machines' Nova-C commercial lander follows in summer 2021, carrying five NASA payloads to Oceanus Procellarum for a 14-Earth-day operation.
Russia's Luna 25 heads to Boguslavsky Crater near the south pole— their first post-1976 lunar probe—analyzing regolith for water and elements.
India's Chandrayaan-3, with lander and rover, eyes a late-2021 launch (possibly 2022). Building on lessons from Chandrayaan-1 (2008, discovered magmatic water) and Chandrayaan-2 (2019 landing issue), it advances reliable soft landings.
NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), in development since 2011, is pivotal for Artemis crewed lunar returns—and eventual Mars trips. Its debut in November 2021 via Artemis I sends an uncrewed Orion around the Moon, though delays loom.
SpaceX ramps up Starship tests post-2020 flights, deploying a Falcon Heavy prototype booster early 2021. Falcon 9 intensifies with Starlink and NASA crew rotations to ISS; Boeing's Starliner eyes uncrewed January and crewed summer flights.
Debuts expected include Blue Origin's New Glenn, ULA's Vulcan, JAXA's H3, and Ariane 6—milestones in reliable heavy-lift capability.
After delays, the James Webb Space Telescope launches October 2021 to L2 point (1.5 million km away). This infrared powerhouse will peer into the early universe, galaxies, black holes, and exoplanet atmospheres.
ISS Expedition 64 continues routine operations. China advances its station with the core module launch, aiming for 2025 completion as ISS successor.
