Here are some major space events that have taken place or are planned to occur after 2020:
- Artemis program: NASA’s Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon by 2024, including the first woman and the next man. This mission will lay the groundwork for future crewed missions to Mars.
- Mars missions: Several missions to Mars are planned, including the Mars 2020 mission by NASA, which successfully landed the Perseverance rover on Mars in February 2021. The rover’s primary goal is to search for signs of ancient microbial life and collect samples for future return to Earth.
- James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): The JWST is set to launch in late 2021. It is a large, space-based observatory that will provide unprecedented views of the universe, studying everything from distant galaxies to exoplanets.
- SpaceX Starship: SpaceX is developing the Starship, a fully reusable spacecraft designed for missions to transport humans and cargo to destinations like the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Test flights and potential crewed missions are expected in the coming years.
- Lunar Gateway: The Lunar Gateway is a planned space station in lunar orbit, which will serve as a staging point for lunar surface missions. It is being developed by NASA in collaboration with international partners.
- China’s space station: China is constructing its space station, named Tiangong, with plans to complete it by 2022. It will be a modular space station and is expected to be operational for at least a decade.
- Commercial crew missions: Commercial space companies like SpaceX and Boeing are continuing to conduct crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. These missions aim to provide regular crew transportation to and from the ISS.
- Asteroid exploration: NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission is set to launch in 2022. It will test the capability of redirecting an asteroid’s path by crashing a spacecraft into it, potentially providing valuable insights for planetary defense.
- Space tourism: Companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin are working towards offering suborbital space tourism experiences to private individuals. These ventures aim to make space more accessible to the general public.
Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and there may be other significant space events that occur after 2020.
