Following Ingenuity's historic first flight on Mars and the triumphant launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, 2021 was a banner year for space exploration. The momentum builds into 2022 with a lineup of groundbreaking missions. Here's a curated overview of key events on the horizon.
2022 will see the debut of two of the most powerful rockets ever engineered.
NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), the agency's most capable interplanetary launcher, has overcome years of delays and substantial investments. It will propel the uncrewed Orion capsule on the Artemis 1 mission, looping around the Moon before splashing down on Earth. Expect this milestone flight in March or April.
SpaceX's Starship/Super Heavy duo promises full reusability and the ability to carry 100 metric tons to deep space. While Starship has conducted limited tests—with just one fully successful—the Super Heavy booster awaits its debut. Their first combined orbital test is slated for spring.
Nine missions from nations and private firms aim to orbit or land on the Moon in 2022, including five backed by NASA.
Alongside Orion's lunar flyby, Rocket Lab plans a March launch for the CAPSTONE cubesat to test a stable orbit for future crewed outposts. NASA has tasked Intuitive Machines with delivering an ice-mining lander to the lunar South Pole, paving the way for sustained human presence.
Internationally, India eyes a summer landing retry after 2019's setback. Russia targets its first soft landing since 1976, and a South Korean orbiter could launch via SpaceX in August.
China advanced its Tiangong station in 2021 with the Tianhe core module, now hosting crews. In 2022, the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules will follow aboard the mighty Long March 5B rocket, completing the assembly.
Planetary defense takes center stage too. NASA's DART mission, jointly with ESA and launched last November, will slam into an asteroid this fall—after traversing over seven million kilometers—to test deflection techniques against potential Earth threats.
Launched on Christmas Day 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope is unfolding at the L2 Lagrange point, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, shielded by its sunshield. Scientific operations ramp up this summer, targeting exotic systems like 51 Eridani b and HR 8799 with their diverse exoplanets.
