According to NASA’s statistics, in 2022, the world conducted a total of 186 launches, of which 178 were successful in sending spacecraft into space. Among them, the United States conducted 87 launches, with 2 failures, delivering a total payload of 793 tons into space, accounting for 77% of the world’s orbital payload. China conducted 64 launches, with 2 failures, carrying 793 tons of payload and 225 tons of cargo, accounting for 21%. Lastly, Russia had 22 successful launches.
The year 2023 is expected to be the “Year of Moon Landings” (Illustration)
Additionally, in the ranking of aerospace companies, SpaceX and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation both achieved a 100% success rate. SpaceX executed 61 launches in 2022, deploying over 2,000 satellites (with most being Starlink satellites). China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation stood in the second position with 50 launches (including 53 Truong Chinh rocket launches and 1 Jielong-3 rocket launch).
COUNTRIES RACING TO “LAND” ON THE MOON In the beginning of this year alone, three commercial aerospace companies sent spacecraft to the moon to compete for the title of “the first commercial company to land on the moon” worldwide.
According to an agreement signed between NASA and the private aerospace company Astrobotic, the Peregrine spacecraft will be on its way to the moon between January and March of this year. Tàu C is also preparing its rocket to search for reasonable ice deposits on the lunar surface. In addition, Japan’s ispace startup’s “White Rabbit-R” spacecraft was launched in December 2022 and is scheduled to attempt a lunar landing in April this year.
Besides commercial aerospace companies, countries such as India, Russia, Japan, and some others will also launch lunar exploration missions this year. India plans to launch the “Chandrayaan-3” spacecraft in June, attempting to land and deploy a rover to the lunar south pole. Previously, during the “Luna2” test, India’s lunar probe lost control and crashed during the landing process. ISRO plans to use a lander and rover with improved landing technology for Chandrayaan-3 to increase the mission’s success rate.
Russia’s Roscosmos will attempt to send the “Moon-25” lunar probe to the lunar south pole to verify soft landing technology, drill soil samples, and search for water ice on the moon in July this year. Remarkably, this will be Russia’s first lunar probe launch since the Soviet Union’s lunar exploration program in the 1970s.
Japan will conduct its first lunar exploration mission with the Small Lunar Ice Mapper (SLIM) spacecraft and demonstrate precise landing technology on the moon. The spacecraft will use a facial recognition system to identify lunar volcanoes with high accuracy.
MULTIPLE MISSIONS TO BE CARRIED OUT DURING EXPLORATION Besides lunar exploration, other space missions will also be sequentially launched this year. In April, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch the Mercury Ice Mapper spacecraft on an Ariane 5 rocket from Guiana, France. The spacecraft will carry cameras, spectrometers, ice-penetrating radar, altimeters, radio science instruments, and others. It will arrive at Mercury in 2029 to study the planet and its three moons—Europa, Ganymede, and Ganymede—as well as surface oceans, magnetic fields, etc., in the search for signs of life.
In October 2023, NASA will launch the Psyche spacecraft. This asteroid primarily consists of metals such as iron and nickel. It is speculated to be the remnant core of a protoplanet after a violent collision.
Moreover, the global aerospace industry is developing various new launch vehicles that will be announced this year. One of the most anticipated is the inaugural launch of heavy-class rockets. For instance, SpaceX’s “Starship” system in the United States is a super-heavy launch vehicle capable of reusability, consisting of a “Starship” spacecraft and a “super heavy” rocket. If its maiden flight goes as expected, it will surpass NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and become the “most powerful rocket in history.”
The “New Glenn” heavy-class rocket by the American company Blue Origin is considered to be comparable to SpaceX’s “Falcon” series, using advanced methane-liquid oxygen engines, and it is expected to complete its first flight this year. Additionally, Japan’s H3 large rocket with the most significant payload capacity is scheduled for its first flight in February this year. It not only significantly improves payload capacity but also aims to reduce launch costs and provide commercial space services to Japan and the global market.