10 Current Space Exploration Missions
10 Current space exploration missions
Missions in space are being carried out all the time and not just when they reach the news. Exploration missions are so commonplace that they rarely make the news at all anymore.
Of course, this does not mean they are no longer incredibly exciting (they are) and can further our understanding of the cosmos and objects within it (they can). It just means that unless you go looking for them, you may not hear anything about them.
That’s where we come in of course, and we have collated here 10 space exploration missions that are currently underway.
1 BepiColombo is on its way to Mercury
BepiColombo is a joint European-Japanese ongoing mission to explore Mercury. The mission launched in 2018 and it is due to enter the orbit of Mercury in 2025.
Did you know?
The BepiColombo mission is going to study water at the planet’s poles and core. Ultimately, this will tell scientists how Mercury was formed.
2 Akatsuki is studying Venus
Akatsuki finally makes Venus orbit
Japan’s Akatsuki first arrived at Venus in 2010 but didn’t enter the planet’s orbit until 2015, after a failed attempt the first time around when it first arrived.
Did you know?
The mission for Akatsuki is to study weather patterns, confirm (hopefully) the existence of lightning in thick clouds and see if there are any signs of active volcanism.
3 Chang’e-5’s mission from the Moon, to the Sun
China’s spacecraft, Chang’e-5, returned samples from the Moon in 2020 and they are hoped to be the youngest samples to be brought to Earth: 1.2 billion years old.
Did you know?
After delivering the samples to Earth, Chang’e-5 is headed to study the Sun, and possibly asteroids along the way.
4 ESA and Roscosmos’ ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is orbiting Mars
Images of Mars taken from ExoMars TGO
The ExoMars spacecraft is searching for methane and other trace gases in the atmosphere of the planet Mars. These gases could possibly be evidence of geological or even biological activity.
Did you know?
The ExoMars TGO started its operations after entering Mars orbit on the 19th of October, 2016.
5 New Horizons is headed to the edge of the solar system
What has New Horizons seen on its journey so far?
The spacecraft New Horizons is on the first mission to explore what is known as the "third zone" of the solar system - the Kuiper Belt. It has flown past the object Arrakoth on its way to the belt.
Did you know?
During its 2015 passing, New Horizons revealed that Pluto was a dwarf planet with surprisingly varied geology.
6 Juno’s mission to Jupiter
Juno’s main mission goal was to learn more about planet Jupiter’s origins and how the planet has changed. Jupiter is thought to be the oldest planet in the solar system, and the discoveries made by Juno may help scientists understand the formation of the system.
Did you know?
Juno’s primary mission ended in 2021, but operations have been extended to 2025 so it can further study the planet and its moons.
7 Chandrayaan-2, India’s Moon orbiter
Chandrayaan-2 confirms there is water on the Moon
Chandrayaan-2 is a mission to send three vehicles to the Moon - an orbiter, lander and a rover. Unfortunately, the lander (that was carrying the rover) tried but failed to land in the Moon’s southern hemisphere.
Did you know?
The orbiter continues to study the Moon: mapping its topography and mineralogy and elemental abundances, among other things.
8 Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter and rover mission
The Chinese Tianwen-1 mission launched on the 23rd of July, 2020. Its goal is to search for pockets of water on Mars using radar on the Zhurong rover.
Did you know?
Tianwen-1 is laying the groundwork for samples to be returned to Earth at the end of the 2020s.
9 Japan’s Hayabusa2 investigates asteroids
Hayabusa2 touches down on Ryugu
In December of 2020, Hayabusa2 returned samples of the asteroid Ryugu to Earth. Scientists are to study these samples using instruments that are too large and power-dependent for space travel.
Did you know?
After it dropped of the samples from Ryugu, Hayabusa2 set off on an extended mission to study more asteroids.
10 OSIRIS-REx and the Bennu sample
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx collected a sample from asteroid Bennu in 2020, and it is due to return to Earth in 2023. Asteroids like Bennu are extremely old and it is thought that they may have brought water and the basic building blocks of life to ancient Earth.
Did you know?
Studying asteroids like Bennu can teach us a lot about the formation of the solar system, but because Bennu is a near-Earth object it might tell us about the formation of Earth. For this, experiments need to be conducted on samples
