As 2024 kicks into gear, we invite you to look forward with ESA and see what awaits us within the coming 12 months.
After Ariane 5’s retirement in 2023, Europe’s new and versatile heavy-duty launcher Ariane 6 will proceed the Ariane legacy of excellence and reliability. After years of improvement and building,Ariane 6 can be prepared for its first flight from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou.
In 2024, we’ll see a return-to-flight for Vega-C. Vega-C will proceed to offer Europe with its personal reasonably priced light-weight launcher. Collectively each initiatives assure Europe’s impartial entry to house.
We additionally proceed to collaborate internationally with NASA on the Artemis lunar programme. This Spring, one other European Service Module, ESM-3, for the third Artemis mission can be shipped to the US for mating with its Orion capsule.
In 2024, Proba-3 can be launched, the primary precision formation-flying mission. The Coronagraph and Occulter spacecraft will fly collectively forming a 144 m coronagraph finding out the Solar’s corona nearer to the photo voltaic rim than ever earlier than.
Originally of the yr, the primary scientific information gathered by our newest house telescope, Euclid, can be revealed. Euclid was designed to discover the composition and evolution of darkish matter and darkish power.
One other thrilling mission that can launch later in 2024 is the Hera mission. This mission will fly to the binary asteroid system of Dimorphos and Didymos to watch the aftermath of the impression made by NASA’s Dart mission.
In Earth commentary, there are a number of satellites able to be launched: the ESA/JAXA mission EarthCARE mission, the Arctic Climate Satellite tv for pc mission and the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-1C and Sentinel-2C satellites.
2024 will carry new developments as effectively for Galileo: two extra first-generation satellites are to be launched in April, adopted by two extra later within the yr. These will broaden the constellation and assist assure Galileo’s optimum efficiency. In the meantime, the primary {hardware} deliveries will happen for the second-generation Galileo satellites.
The 5 profession astronauts from the 2022 astronaut class will end their primary coaching this yr after which be prepared for mission assignments.
For Swedish challenge astronaut Marcus Wandt, there is no such thing as a such wait. In January, he can be launched to the Area Station as a mission specialist on the Axiom-3 industrial mission – simply time to catch up in house along with his Danish colleague, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who is scheduled to return to Earth after a six-month keep on the Area Station in February.
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