1 - Eyes in the Moon  

• NASA Artemis  

And soon also the feet. NASA plans to take the first woman to the Moon (and also the next man) by 2024, in the mission known as Artemis Program. For that, NASA needs to launch Artemis 1 in 2020, to test the crew spacecraft Orion and its new Space Launch System (SLS). The space flight will last three weeks and has the goal to travel thousands of miles beyond the Moon before coming back to Earth.   

According to Greek mythology, Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo and had Orion as her hunting companion.  

• China Chang’ e 5  

With both a lunar rover and a landing system to collect samples and return to Earth, China National Space Administration is planning to launch a mission to the Moon in late 2020.  

2 – We’ve been to the Moon now it is Mars turn.  

Although man is not going to Mars in 2020, there are a few expeditions targeting the red planet.

• ESA ExoMars 2020  

The European Space Agency (ESA) is planning to send Europe’s first rover to Mars. Its goal is to extract and analyze rock samples, as well as search for traces of life. The Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, is ESA’s partner in this mission, and it is responsible for the stationary surface that will explore the area of the landing.   

ESA’s rover is named after the British scientist Rosalind Franklin, whose work contributed to the DNA structure discovery.    

• NASA Mars 2020 Rover  

NASA’s rover has the goal to collect rock samples and investigate signs of life. Also, it is planned to try a new technique for producing oxygen from the red planet’s atmosphere. The rover also counts with a tiny “helicopter” to explore Mars from the sky.  

• China Hope Mars  

China Hope mission is an orbiter project run by the United Arab Emirates, and it also counts with NASA as a partner. It is China’s first mission beyond Earth’s orbit. The mission’s objective is to understand climate changes and the atmosphere of Mars.  

• China Mars Probe  

China plans to launch a mission that combines a Martian orbiter and a planetary rover, an ambitious plan that may get China to be the second only country to make it. According to the China National Space Administration, the scientific mission goals are to study Martian soil, geological structure, environment, and search for water.  

3 - China   

As we can see, China has entered the space race. As China’s space policy doesn’t change with the government, it has the advantage of being able to make plans for years in the future and get it done. The investment in space is a way for China to install national pride and political support and to improve its industry.  

4 - India  

India is a new player in the space, and together with China, they will become significant space nations. For 2020 India has its mission Aditya 1 planned. The objectives are to study Sun’s layers, photosphere, chromosphere, and corona, as well as its outer atmosphere, and space’s weather. 

For the first half of 2020s decade, Indian plans, among other things, are to go back to Mars, have a Space Station, take astronauts to the Moon, and a scientific mission to Venus orbit.  

5 - International Space Station (ISS) has an uncertain future or might not have one at all  

The increase in maintenance necessary has become a concern, and it started to be questioned if the ISS should be kept running or not. With China’s plan to have its station by the middle of the 2020s, and Europe discussing the possibilities of a partnership, even with the USA’s commitment to stay in the ISS until 2024, the future of the space station relies on international collaboration and the relationship with the other major player, Russia.  

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Article written by Juliane Verissímo - Marketing Department of VisionSpace