To the moon, asteroids and beyond, robotic explorers racked up the mileage in 2023. Here’s the latest status of space missions that made headlines this year.
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer
April 14: The European Space Agency launched the Juice mission.
Update: There’s not much progress to report yet; it will take about eight years for the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice, to reach its destination. But once there, the spacecraft will fly by the Jovian moons Callisto, Europe and Ganymede numerous times before settling into orbit around Ganymede. Closely scrutinizing these moons will help verify whether they host liquid oceans beneath their icy outer shells and gauge whether these underground seas could host life.
Euclid space telescope
July 1: The ESA launched the Euclid space telescope.
Update: Euclid’s aim is to create a 3-D map of the universe to help astronomers better understand dark matter, the mysterious substance that accounts for most matter in the universe, and dark energy, the unknown force that’s accelerating the universe’s expansion. In November, the telescope showed off what it’s capable of when it sent back its first full-color images, dazzling beauty shots of far-off galaxies.
Chandrayaan-3
August 23: India became only the fourth country to successfully land on the moon when the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Vikram lander touched down near the lunar south pole, the first spacecraft to do so (SN: 9/23/23, p. 7).
Update: High on the mission’s to-do list was testing the capabilities of the lander and its rover, named Pragyan, to prep for future lunar missions. The duo also collected measurements, such as the temperature and chemical makeup of the surface. The data could prove useful to space agencies like NASA that intend to send astronauts to the south pole, a tantalizing region that appears to harbor water ice in shadowed craters (SN: 12/3/22, p. 14). The mission ended in early September when Vikram and…
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