What are the top 10 developments in global space exploration in the past year?

1. Mars Perseverance Rover: The successful landing and functioning of NASA’s Perseverance Rover on Mars in February 2021 marked a major milestone in planetary exploration. The rover will search for signs of ancient microbial life and collect samples for a future Mars mission to return to Earth.

2. Artemis Program: The Artemis Program, led by NASA, aims to return humans to the Moon by 2024. In the past year, significant progress has been made, including successful test launches of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft.

3. China’s Tianzhou-2 Cargo Craft: China launched its Tianzhou-2 cargo craft in May 2021 to resupply its space station, Tiangong. This marks a step forward for China’s ambitious space exploration goals.

4. UAE’s Mars Mission: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) made history by successfully entering orbit around Mars with its “Hope” probe, making UAE the fifth country to reach the Red Planet.

5. SpaceX’s Starship Tests: SpaceX made significant strides in testing its Starship prototype, with several successful high-altitude test flights. The Starship aims to be a fully reusable spacecraft capable of carrying humans and cargo to destinations like the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

6. NASA’s Voyager 1 Still Going Strong: In 2021, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, continues to operate and communicate with Earth from interstellar space. It is the farthest human-made object in space.

7. Mars Helicopter Ingenuity: NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, carried by the Perseverance rover, successfully demonstrated powered flight on Mars. This marked the first controlled, powered flight on another planet.

8. Chang’e-5 Sample Return: China’s Chang’e-5 mission successfully gathered samples from the Moon and returned them to Earth, making China the third country to achieve a lunar sample return.

9. Asteroid Exploration: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 mission and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission both successfully collected samples from asteroids and returned them to Earth. These missions provide valuable insights into the formation of our solar system.

10. New Mars Missions announced: The European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos announced plans for their joint ExoMars rover mission, which is set to launch in 2022. Also, NASA announced its next Mars rover mission for 2026, called the Dragonfly, which will fly a drone-like rotorcraft on the moon Titan, a moon of Saturn. Both missions will increase our understanding of Mars and other celestial bodies.