China News Service, January 6th (CNN) on January 5th sorted out several major space missions expected to be launched by NASA, the European Space Agency and other agencies in 2023, including Send robotic landers to the moon, launch rovers to Jupiter's icy moons to explore life, and more.

In the early morning of November 16, 2022, local time, the giant lunar exploration rocket "Space Launch System" carrying the "Orion" spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, and the "Artemis 1" was launched to orbit the moon unmanned. flight test mission.

"Delivering" to the Moon

　　According to reports, in November 2022, the US moon landing rocket "Space Launch System" (SLS) was launched at the Kennedy Space Center to carry out the "Artemis 1" mission.

Although the program's first crewed flight, the Artemis 2 mission, is not expected to take place until the spring of 2024, the astronauts' names may soon be known.

　　NASA has narrowed its astronaut corps to 18 candidates.

Last month, NASA officials also said the Artemis 2 crew would be announced in early 2023.

　　In addition, NASA also plans to "delivery" to the moon-sending robotic landers to the moon.

Dubbed Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), the program relies heavily on partnering with various companies developing lunar landers.

　　According to the plan, the first lander will likely be built by Astrobotic, a US firm based in Pennsylvania.

The company plans to use a lunar lander to send 11 scientific exploration instruments to the lunar surface in the first few months of 2023.

Exploring life on Jupiter

　　The European Space Agency will launch the Jupiter Ice Moon Explorer (JUICE) in April 2023 to start a journey of exploration of Jupiter and its three icy moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

　　All three satellites are thought to have possible oceans beneath their ice-covered crusts, according to CNN.

Scientists also want to explore whether Ganymede's oceans might be habitable.

　　Once the spacecraft reaches Jupiter's vicinity in July 2031, multiple flybys will be performed.

Some of the mission's goals also include investigating whether life ever existed in the Jupiter system, how Jupiter shaped its moons, and how Jupiter itself formed.

News on August 23, 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope has captured a stunning new image of Jupiter.

Composite of two filters, F212N (orange) and F335M (cyan), the latest image of Jupiter will provide scientists with more clues about life inside the planet.

Boeing's Starliner launches with first crew

　　Boeing has been working for years to develop a spacecraft capable of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station, and 2023 is expected to be the year the new space taxi is finally up and running.

　　The spacecraft, called Starliner, successfully completed an uncrewed test mission to the International Space Station last May.

Next, NASA plans to conduct the first manned launch in April 2023.

These commercial rockets may welcome the "first show"

　　Some commercial rocket companies are expected to launch entirely new launch vehicles that are owned and operated entirely by the private sector.

　　Two commercial rockets in development include the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket and billionaire Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin's New Glenn. )Rocket.

The former is expected to launch in early 2023, while the latter could make its first flight sometime after that.

　　Some new small rockets designed specifically to launch lightweight satellites into Earth orbit may also make an appearance.

Two U.S.-based startups, Relativity and ABL Space Systems, are likely to make their first launches in Florida and Alaska, respectively.

Exploring the mysterious asteroid Psyche

　　NASA missed the 2022 launch window for the Psyche mission due to problems with testing software and equipment.

Now, NASA is tentatively targeting October 2023 for the launch of the next mission.

After entering space, the spacecraft will orbit the asteroid "soul" to perform tasks.

　　The asteroid "soul" could be a planet's leftover metallic core, or the equivalent of a piece of raw material that was never melted, NASA said.

It could help astronomers learn more about the formation of the solar system.