The Future of Space Exploration

We are on the verge of a new age of space exploration. Although the last few years may have seemed sluggish in terms of space exploration prospects, there is a bright future ahead.

The Return to the Moon

The most prominent mission of the future is NASA's Artemis program, which focuses on bringing people back to the Moon and establishing a permanent presence on its surface to facilitate future missions to Mars. Formally initiated in 2017 as a replacement for the cancelled Constellation program, Artemis utilizes a variety of vehicles to achieve its goals, from the Space Launch System to Elon Musk's Starship.

The plan is to send the first crew on a flyby of the Moon in the latter half of 2025 (though this date may slip further). This mission will use Orion, a capsule inherited from the Constellation program, containing four astronauts. Artemis III, scheduled for one year later, will mark the first human landing on the Moon in over five decades. This milestone will be achieved using SpaceX's Human Landing System, a specially modified version of Starship, which will dock with Orion in a near-rectilinear halo orbit. From there, the Starship will descend to the Moon's surface, where the crew will conduct numerous experiments.

Looking further ahead, the plan is to establish a permanent presence on the Moon and construct a space station in lunar orbit. Unfortunately, the program faces challenges such as congressional interference, delays, and budget overruns.

The SpaceX Goliath

" Can tiny SpaceX Rock Boeing?" Well, as it turns out, yes, it can. SpaceX proved its worth in 2015 by landing the first-stage booster of its Falcon 9 rocket. Since then, the company has perfected booster recovery and moved on to testing its next marvel, Starship.

This colossal rocket first launched on April 20, 2023, making it the most massive and powerful vehicle ever to fly. Starship is still in its testing phase, but if successful, it will be utilized as the primary means of transport to the Moon's surface and back in the Artemis program. The long-term goal is to use Starship to take humans to Mars to establish a colony.

Elon Musk plans to make humanity an interplanetary species within the next few years, though "Elon time" often overestimates the speed at which projects are completed.

Another significant project that SpaceX is working on is Starlink, a satellite constellation that aims to provide high-speed internet globally. Starling has already been of tremendous help to the Ukrainian army in fending off the Russian invasion. In the years to come, it will bring network access to rural areas of the world and enhance everyone's lives greatly.

What comes next is debatable, but one thing is certain: SpaceX has a vision that will propel humanity forward, and the company is here to stay for years to come.

The Future Shines Bright

The future of space exploration is undeniably bright. With the work of NASA, SpaceX, and other companies such as Rocket Lab and Blue Origin, humanity is on a path to becoming an interplanetary species, unearthing new discoveries and reaching into the depths of the cosmos. One day, we may even boldly go where no man has gone before.

Tobiáš Urbánek

Sources:

• NASA. (2024, April 24). Artemis - NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/artemis/

• Starlink. Starlink. https://www.starlink.com/

• SpaceX. SpaceX. https://www.spacex.com/humanspaceflight/mars/

• Wikipedia contributors. (2024, October 25). Artemis program. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_program

• Wikipedia contributors. (2024b, October 25). SpaceX Starship. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship