The start of the year brings with it a spirit of strong trepidation. We wonder what the new things will be, the projects that will make us dizzy and gasp in amazement. What do scientists say? They say 2022 will be a space year!
Research involving space exploration will leave room for big news this year.
In particular, there are four most interesting proposals that could leave the curious speechless.
Let's look together at the 4 missions / news of 2022, the adventures that could change our perception of space and the universe in general.
The James Webb Space Telescope
Among the most interesting news of 2022, there is the introduction of the famous James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
It took researchers about thirty years to complete the work, to create an incredibly powerful space telescope.
Just think that the James Webb is a hundred times more precise than the Hubble telescope (already famous). According to expert opinion, it can observe stars more than 13 billion light-years away.
Thanks to this incredible power, it will allow astronomers to observe the first galaxies formed in the universe. The telescope, in fact, is able to identify particularly distant galaxies and stars, using special infrared radiation.
Likewise, the James Webb Space Telescope will help experts study exoplanets in the universe, trying to understand if there is life beyond Earth.
Launch of Artemis I
NASA works for the return of man to the Moon, through the program Artemis.
Artemis 1 is the first mission of the program, and aims to send the next men to the moon by 2025. NASA will exploit the very powerful Space launch system (SLS), hoping to get positive results.
The Orion space capsule will be placed aboard the SLS, making a three-week journey to the moon and back. The capsule will be tasked with testing the various systems, making sure everything is ready for a manned launch.
From the information obtained, we know that the NASA space rocket was designed to carry more than humans. A large portion of the space is reserved for “constraint materials,” needed to help astronauts.
Launch of the ExoMars space rover
In addition to the Moon, Mars will also soon see another host appear.
In 2022, another rover belonging to the project will be launched on Mars ExoMars. The research is led by the European Space Agency and the Russian Roscosmos State Corporation, and aims to find out if life has ever managed to inhabit Mars.
NASA also helped build the rover, helping experts with fundamental tools.
Everyone's help will allow the rover to effectively detect historical signs of life on Mars.
DART colliding with an asteroid
The latest news is also connected with the work of NASA.
This time, we are talking about a protection program, an effective system for preventing potentially disastrous situations. In particular, the new project aims to gather information on how much a spacecraft is able to influence the general direction of an asteroid.
The project is called Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), and it is exactly an assessment test.
The presence of DART it could prove crucial in an emergency situation. NASA scientists aim to test this possibility by 2022, so as to be prepared for the arrival of the new year.
The news on the world of space continues to increase year after year.
Man tries to push himself further and further away, trying to look closely at what he was unable to observe in the past.
Hundreds of steps forward have been made in a short time, and we expect a significant increase in space initiatives by 2023. We just have to wait and keep our eyes peeled.