To the moon, Mars and beyond - the eight space-faring nations' plans for 2024

USA
China
Europe
India
Russia
Japan
South Korea
Arab world

USA, Europe and Co. - To the moon, Mars and beyond - the eight space-faring nations' plans for 2024

The largest rocket system ever built recently exploded during its second test. However, manufacturer SpaceX remains optimistic about future plans for the "Starship". Bill Nelson, head of the US space agency Nasa, also wrote on X, once Twitter: "Together, Nasa and SpaceX will take humanity back to the moon, Mars and beyond." The USA is by no means alone in its committed plans for space - China in particular has become an excellent space nation. An overview of planned missions:

USA

The US space agency NASA is eagerly awaiting the first manned launch in 2024 as part of the "Artemis" program. Following a successful unmanned test at the end of 2022, three men and one woman are toorbit the moon in November next year on the ten-day Artemis 2 mission. In 2025, "Artemis 3" will see astronauts land on the moon again after more than half a century, at least according to the current plan, including a woman and a non-white person for the first time.

Preparations for a space station on the moon are also continuing. SpaceX, Elon Musk's private space company, has announced many more 'Starship' tests. The most powerful rocket system in the history of space travel is set to fly to the moon and Mars at some point.

The expensive operation of the International Space Station (ISS) is also continuing. Several astronauts are to fly there on SpaceX 's Crew Dragon - and in spring, Boeing's crisis-ridden Starliner is to take humans there for the first time.

China

China, which has long since become a competitive space-faring nation, also has its sights set on the moon and Mars. "Our eternal dream is to discover the vast cosmos, develop a space industry and turn China into a space power," declared state and party leader Xi Jinping.

Chinese people should therefore be standing on the moon by 2030. If the "Artemis" program is severely delayed, it is therefore not inconceivable that they will be walking around there sooner than the first new US moon walkers. The longer-term goal is to build a research station, and other countries have been explicitly invited to participate. Belarus, South Africa, Venezuela, Pakistan, Russia and Azerbaijan have already agreed to cooperate, according to Chinese and their own statements.

In spring, the unmanned lunar mission "Chang'e 6" will collect samples on the far side of the Earth's satellite for the first time and bring them back to Earth. Two years later, "Chang'e 7" will carry out a precise landing on the south polar side in preparation for the construction of the station. Chinese astronauts will then land on the moon with "Chang'e 8".

China also has ambitious Mars exploration projects in its sights. The country has also long maintained its own space station, "Tiangong" (Heavenly Palace), to which a team of three astronauts only set off again in October.

Europe

Sending astronauts to the moon on its own is currently not an issue for Europe. When choosing a partner, the European Space Agency Esa continues to rely on the USA: Esa is contributing the European Service Module (ESM) for the "Orion" spacecraft of the "Artemis" program, built under the leadership of Airbus in Bremen.

There are no firm plans for an Esa astronaut to fly on either "Artemis 2" or "Artemis 3", but only on "Artemis 4" and "Artemis 5", which are still a long way off. And it is unclear whether she or he will then be one of the two of the four space travelers on a mission who will not only fly to the moon, but also set foot on it. "That has not yet been defined," Esa Director General Josef Aschbacher said recently. NASA only wants to decide on this after the "Artemis 2" flight.

Esa is planning to launch earth observation satellites such as "Sentinel-2C", "EarthCare" and "Biomass" next year, partly with partners. They will provide data on the condition of forests, cloud formation and aerosols, for example. Many of the values obtained are important for recording the progression of climate change.

In addition, after several postponements, the new Ariane 6 launcher is due to take off in 2024 - the first launch was originally planned for 2020. Esa retired its predecessor Ariane 5 this year and after a failed launch, the smaller Vega C rocket also had to remain on the ground. Since then, Esa no longer has its own means of launching satellites into space.

The planned launch of "Hera" in October should also be a highlight. The probe, named after a Greek goddess, is part of a dual mission by Esa and NASA to sound out defense mechanisms for a possible asteroid impact on Earth. Nasa's "Dart" probe had already landed on the asteroid Dimorphos as planned in 2022.

India

India has increasingly ambitious space plans: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that he would like to see an Indian space station by 2035 and the first Indian on the moon by 2040. With the unmanned probe "Chandrayaan-3", the country achieved the difficult landing on the Earth's companion this year - after the former Soviet Union, the USA and China.

The launch of the "Shukrayaan-1" mission to Venus is planned for the end of next year. The head of the Indian space agency Isro, Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, said that it could provide insights into the future of the Earth. A mission to Mars, called "Mangalyaan-2", is also planned for the near future.

Russia

Despite the cost-intensive war against Ukraine, Russia wants to increase its spending on the space program from the equivalent of 321 million euros to around three billion euros in the coming year. In particular, companies involved in the development of reusable launch vehicles and propulsion systems are to receive funding.

Following the loss of its "Luna-25" space probe, the country also wants to press ahead with its lunar program. The first Russian lunar mission in almost five decades failed to land on the Earth's satellite in August. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is now calling for the industry to work faster and with greater commercial success. The number of Russian satellites must increase several times over and launches should also become more cost-effective.

The construction of a space station to replace the ageing ISS is also being prepared. The head of the space agency Roskosmos, Yuri Borisov, is planning to spend around six billion euros on this alone by 2032. Russia is working closely with China and India, among others, on this project. Construction of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) is scheduled to begin with the launch of the first module in 2027 at the earliest.

Japan

The Asian high-tech nation of Japan is also pressing ahead with its projects to explore the moon and Mars. At the beginning of September, the Japanese space agency Jaxa sent off the lunar lander "SLIM" and an X-ray telescope called "XRISM". "SLIM is expected to enter lunar orbit around three to four months after the launch and land some time later. In this case, Japan would be the fifth country to achieve a soft landing on the moon.

Japan's lunar lander will be used to test technologies for future landings on the lunar surface. The data will be used for the "Artemis" program. Like Esa, Japan is aiming to send its own astronauts to the moon for the first time.

The island nation is also planning an exploration mission to Mars. The Jaxa project called "Martian Moons Exploration" (MMX) plans to launch a probe towards the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos in 2024/2025. Jaxa wants to explore both moons and collect soil samples from Phobos in the hope of finding clues to the origin of Mars and traces of possible life. The samples are to be brought to Earth in a capsule in 2029.

South Korea

South Korea is also taking part in the new space race. One of the goals of Asia's fourth-largest economy is to create a basis for future activities on the moon. After its first lunar probe reached its target orbit just over a year ago, it sent photos of the far side of the Earth's satellite this year. It will also explore possible landing sites. South Korea wants to carry out a moon landing by 2031. It is not yet clear whether it will be an unmanned landing with a robot.

South Korea is also a signatory to the Artemis program. No major rocket launch for space research is initially planned for 2024, explained a spokesperson from the Ministry of Science. However, the long-planned space agency based on the NASA model should finally be launched. The aim is to make space research projects more effective.

Arab world

In the Arab world, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are pursuing ambitious plans for space travel. The Emirates want to try again to land a rover on the moon after such a landing with a probe from the Japanese space company Ispace failed in April. Mohammed bin Rashid, ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, nevertheless praised the efforts. The Emirates had "built a space industry from scratch in just ten years".

Saudi Arabia competes with its small, powerful neighbor and has announced investments of more than two billion US dollars in space travel. The country wants to promote space tourism and satellite-based communication, for example. However, compared to the budget of the US space agency NASA, which is around ten times larger, the funds invested by the two countries are still small despite their great oil wealth.