\”While 2025 may not see the return of astronauts to deep space as NASA had planned, the launchpads will still be busy with a series of robotic spacecraft attempting to land on the moon. The question remains: how many of these moon landings will be successful, surpassing the two-ish attempts from the previous year? In addition to these moon missions, commercial giants like SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn will conduct uncrewed orbital test launches to refine their technology. Meanwhile, as we eagerly await scientific missions to distant solar system destinations, some probes will capture close-up images of planets as they utilize gravitational boosts from flybys. Stay updated with the latest space missions and cosmic events by bookmarking this calendar and following Mashable for updates throughout the year.
Key upcoming events include BepiColombo’s final Mercury flyby on January 8, Blue Origin’s first flight for New Glenn on January 12, SpaceX’s upgraded Starship test on January 13, and the dual moon landers Firefly Aerospace and ispace’s mission on January 15. Other highlights include Intuitive Machines’ delivery of a NASA moon rover and orbiter in February, the Europa Clipper spacecraft’s flyby of Mars on February 27, and the launch of NASA’s SPHEREx astrophysics observatory in February.
In March, the European spacecraft Hera will fly by Mars and one of its moons, while NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are expected to return to Earth after a long stay at the International Space Station. Additionally, NASA and India will collaborate on a satellite mission to study Earth’s land and ice, and private astronauts will fly to the ISS for Axiom Space’s fourth private mission, scheduled for spring. Exciting times are ahead in the world of space exploration!\”