Space science and exploration has reached exciting new heights in the last 12 months.
We learn that galaxies are much bigger than we thought, how Europe is building its new flagship rocket, Ariana 6, and what being stuck in space does to astronauts’ bodies. Germany’s first female astronaut will also go to space in 2025.
2025 is going to be equally exciting, but what’s next?
NASA’s ‘stranded’ astronauts to return to Earth in spring
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will return to Earth in March 2025.
Both astronauts were released to the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024
Propulsion problems with their spacecraft meant that their eight-day mission had to be extended.
Although not technically ‘unexploded’ as there are regular crew and supply trips that could return them at a later date, the pair of astronauts have had to extend their stay on the ISS from two weeks, now, to a minimum of nine months. Was forced to.
The astronauts have since joined Crew-9, a mission launched by SpaceX to the ISS to return two astronauts home.
Crew-9 was originally planned to return to Earth in February 2025, but NASA announced in December that it would delay the launch of Crew-10, which is set to replace Crew-9.
Crew-10 is being delayed by a month, meaning the astronauts should return to Earth in March if there are no further delays.
Measuring biology from space
2025 will be the year the European Space Agency (ESA) begins analyzing Earth’s ecosystems from space.
The Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) mission will provide global maps of plant health and stress. The design lifetime of FLEX is three and a half years from launch.
The satellite will include new instruments capable of measuring photosynthetic activity from space for the first time. The instrument, called FLORIS, will measure vegetation fluorescence to record photosynthesis on a large scale, to provide a better understanding of how plant ecosystems affect the global carbon cycle.
A separate ESA mission to launch in 2025 will also analyze Earth’s forests. The Biomass Mission will measure information about the condition of our forests and how they are changing.
The results of both missions can help inform policy around climate change protection, agricultural management and food security.
Next steps for Artemis, but no action in 2025
2025 will be a key year for NASA’s plans to return humans to the Moon as part of the Artemis program, but there will be no rocket going up.
Instead, space enthusiasts will watch NASA’s progress in passing key milestones in preparation for the Artemis II mission.
In 2022, Artemis I successfully tested an unmanned flight of Orion in lunar orbit. Artemis II is a follow-up mission that aims to bring a human crew onboard in 2026. The Artemis III mission will return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.
The Artemis II mission was intended to launch in late 2025, but has been pushed back to April 2026 at the earliest to allow more time to address issues found with the Orion spacecraft on its first mission.
The delay gives commercial partners SpaceX and Axiom Space time to meet their major milestones in the development of the Starship lunar lander and new spacesuits, respectively.
Astronauts will use the LUNA facility in Germany to train for future trips to the lunar surface.
lunar eclipse and meteor shower
Many things will happen near the Earth too which we will be able to see with our naked eyes or through telescopes.
That is until more satellites continue to blind astronomers’ view of space.
quadrangular meteor shower It runs from mid-November to mid-January each year, with a peak on January 3.
The meteors will radiate from the northern sky but will be visible in all parts of the sky. You need to wake up in the wee hours of the morning, and hope that the peak arrives at the right time in your part of the world.
Meteor Shower of Eta Aquarid Will also be visible from 20th April to 21st May. Eta Aquariids is a bright shower when seen from the southern tropical region, but it can also be seen north of the equator. Eta Aquarids is at its peak on May 3–4.
Another date for your space calendar is March 14, when a total eclipse of the moon Will be visible in the Pacific, America, Western Europe and Western Africa.
Depending on where you live, you’ll have a second chance on September 7 in 2025, when a lunar eclipse Will be visible in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
However, there is no need to worry about any asteroid or meteorite hitting the Earth.
Edited by: Zulfikar Abbani
