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Our Solar System has 1 star our Sun, 8 Planets, 5 Dwarf Planets, over 3000 Comets, 550,000 asteroids and our nearest star is Proxima Centauri.
Mercury: Closest planet to the Sun. Next spacecraft mission is Bepicolombo.
Venus: Very hot planet. Akatsuki is the only spacecraft in orbit.
– NASA’s Parker Solar Probe closest ever spacecraft to the Sun on 29 October 2018.
– Russia’s Nauka ISS module will be launched in 2021 to the International Space Station.
– NASA will launch James Webb Space Telescope on 31 October 2021.
– Chang’e 5 is China’s first Sample Return Mission. To launch late 2020.
– SpaceX to launch 2 Space Tourists around Moon in 2018.
– NASA finds India’s missing Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter. It was lost in 2009. It is circling 124 miles (200 km) above the lunar surface.
– Chandrayaan-3: India’s third lunar mission will launch in 2021.
– NASA to launch Artemis 1 (previously called EM-1 mission) first launch of Orion spacecraft / Space Launch System around moon in 2021.
– NASA planning to build Lunar Gateway.
– SpaceX’s Starship SN5 prototype first free flight was on 4 August 2020.
– Trump administration may direct NASA to set up a human settlement on the Moon.
Near-Earth Asteroids: OSIRIS-REx reached asteroid Bennu in 2018 and return a sample to Earth in 2023.
Mars: 2 moons – Deimos & Phobos.
– NASA’s InSight lander was launched in May 2018.
– European Space Agency / Russia to launch ExoMars rover and surface platform in 2022.
– NASA launches Perseverance Mars Rover to search for signs of ancient life, lands on Mars 18 Feb 2021.
Asteroid Belt: Dawn Spacecraft was the last spacecraft to orbit Dwarf Planet Ceres.
Jupiter: Juno in currently in orbit. Europa Clipper is NASA’s next big mission. Destination: Europa Moon.
Saturn: Cassini is doing a fantastic job around the ringed planet. Mission ended in Sept ’17.
Uranus and Neptune – no missions
Pluto: has 5 moons. New Horizons flew past in 2015. New Horizons will be 100 AU from the Sun in 2038.
Vehicles visiting the International Space Station:
Crew: Russian Soyuz Spacecraft & Dragon. Future Crewed Vehicles: CST-100 & Orion.
Cargo: Progress Spacecraft (cargo), Dragon spacecraft, Cygnus. Future cargo carrier: Dream Chaser.
Famous Rockets: Proton Rocket, Soyuz Rocket, Ariane 5, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy. Future rockets: Space Launch System – first launch 2021, Starship – first launch 2024, New Glenn – first launch 2021.
X-37B – USA’s Secret Spaceplane OTV-6 launched 17 May 2020. Return to Earth date unknown!!!
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