Science Editorial (EuroEFE).- The European Space Agency has a broad calendar of activities for 2024, including the restoration of autonomous access to space with the inaugural flight of Ariane 6 and the resumption of operations of Vega-C. Launch of the Hera Planetary Defense Mission.
Notable events include the graduation of a new class of ESA astronauts, including the Spanish Pablo Alvarez, the launch of the Earth observation satellite Earthcare or the launch of the Luna facility, a mission simulator on our satellite.
The year will kick off with a press conference by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher on 12 January, focusing on Europe's aspirations for a greener and more sustainable future in space.Space access, space exploration, scientific activity, space defense and space commercialization.
The big moment of the year for ESA is that, after many delays, the maiden flight of Ariane 6 is scheduled between June 15 and July 31, a new rocket that will give Europe free access to space again.
The new rocket, currently in its final stages of testing, can reach Earth orbit and deep space, facilitating European navigation, Earth observation, science and defense projects.
Besides, Vega-C flights will resume in the fallA medium-sized launcher that will extend Europe's autonomy in space by facilitating new mission opportunities, including return-to-Earth operations with ESA's reusable Space Rider reentry vehicle.
Another highlight will be Liberation of HeraA planetary protection mission called DART and a second part from NASA that will hit an asteroid to deflect it in September 2022.
Hera is scheduled to launch in October at Cape Canaveral (USA). On a SpaceX rocket. Its final target was the binary asteroid Didymos, to study both it and Dimorphos, which was deflected by DART.
HERA will provide valuable information for future asteroid deflection missions and science, as well as for studying the geophysics of asteroids, the formation of the Solar System, and their evolutionary processes.
A mission with archival and scientific support at the European Space Astronomy Center in Madrid.
It's been more than a decade since ESA graduated its last astronauts, but this year, in April, the new class will leave after more than a year of training, including five starters, including Spaniard Pablo Alvarez.
The graduation ceremony for the Class of 2022 not only marks the successful completion of rigorous training, but also serves as a platform to announce selections for upcoming space missions.
ESA operations on the International Space Station will continue. In mid-January, Markus VanDim will depart, as mission specialist for Axiom-3 during his first stay, with whom he will participate in microgravity research and propagation activities for 14 days.
Also, the first Danish astronaut, Andreas Mogensen, who has been on the space station since last August for the Mun mission, is scheduled to return to Earth at the end of February, along with more than 20 European science experiments.
Many more satellites are planned to be launched this year as well. In May it will be the turn of Tierra EarthCare, a joint venture between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
To better understand the evolution of our planet's temperature, the satellite will investigate the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting infrared radiation emitted from the Earth's surface back into space.
In the summer, the Proba-3 mission will be launched aboard the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), two small satellites that will study the faint solar corona and surrounding atmosphere, and use innovative technologies to accurately measure the position. In two spacecraft.
In October, the LUNA facility will open at the European Space Center in Cologne (Germany).Designed to recreate the surface of the Moon, provide a training ground for astronauts and a technology testing center to advance our satellites.
There are two launches of the Galileo satellite navigation system this year, the first in April and the second between July and September.
The Space Summit will be held in Brussels in MayESA and its Member States will engage in the preparation of the 'ESA 2040' strategy, an important step towards the Council meeting at Ministerial level in 2025.
Editing by Sandra Municio
