Space Missions 2021

Year 2021 is full of surprises if we look from space programs perspective. let’s see some of the important and most awaited upcoming space missions of the year.

Nasa Perseverance Rover

NASA’s mars exploration program launched on 30 July 2020. This program includes perseverance rover and ingenuity helicopter drone. The rover and drone will touchdown on mars on 18 Feb 2021. It will land on jezero crater on mars. The aim of this, mission is to seek sign of past life. where the ancient environment is believed to have been favorable for microbial life.

James Webb space telescope

This is one of the most awaited space missions. After succession of Hubble space telescope. Nasa along with ESA and CSA, are all set to launched James Webb telescope. Launched date of the James Webb telescope is 31^st oct 2021. The total budget of this mission is around $8.8 billion to $10 billion. Advantages of this missions are, it will cover longer wavelength of light than Hubble telescope. It means, James Webb telescope can look back in time to see the formation of first galaxies that formed during the early universe.  

Chandrayaan 3

After partial success of previous lunar mission chandrayaan 2, India is all set to launch mission on lunar surface for 3^rd time.  It is a third lunar exploration mission by ISRO. This mission is likely to held in late 2021. The budget of this mission is around 6.15 billion rupees. If India is successful in soft landing of his rover on lunar surface, then it will become fourth country to do so.

Nasa’s Lucy Mission

Lucy is NASA’s space probe. It will complete 12 years journey to seven different asteroids. Lucy will visit a main belt of asteroid and also a six Jupiter trojans which share Jupiter orbit around the sun. orbiting either ahead of the planet or behind the planet. These asteroids hold the secrets of early solar system. This mission is having launched window between 16 Oct to 5 Nov 2021. This mission will give us the evidence of how our solar system formed.

Dart

Dart means, double asteroid redirection test. Dart is 500 kg space probe. That will visit the double asteroid didymos .  65803 Didymos is binary, S-type near earth asteroid system. A demonstration of asteroid path deflection is a main highlight that Nasa and APL want to perform. It’s a first planetary mission for defense purpose. The intend of mission is to check whether, a spacecraft impact could successfully deflect an asteroid path, which is headed towards the earth in near future. The DART mission is likely to be launched on 22 July 2021.

These are some of the most exciting missions of 2021.