Australia is celebrating space with a new coin. The Royal Australian Mint’s first minted coins for 2024 celebrate Australia’s involvement in space. The Australian Space Agency, which officially formed in 2018, worked closely with the Mint to design the coin (pictured), which shows milestones like the launch of the first Australian satellite and the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Image credit: Royal Australian Mint.
India made the first launch of 2024, deploying an X-ray astronomy satellite. XPoSat, which launched on the morning of Jan. 1, will study neutron stars, black holes, and supernovae. The record for most launch attempts worldwide was broken in 2023 with 220 orbital launch attempts. India conducted seven of those launches, all of which were successful.