\n<\/p>\n
As 2024 kicks into gear,\u00a0we invite you to look ahead with ESA and see what awaits\u00a0us in the coming 12 months.<\/p>\n
After Ariane 5\u2019s\u00a0retirement in 2023, Europe\u2019s new and versatile heavy-duty launcher Ariane 6 will continue the Ariane legacy of excellence and reliability. After years of development and construction,Ariane 6 will be ready for its first flight from Europe\u2019s Spaceport in Kourou.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2024, we\u2019ll see\u00a0a return-to-flight for Vega-C. Vega-C will continue to provide Europe with its own affordable lightweight launcher. Together both projects guarantee Europe\u2019s independent access to space.<\/p>\n
We\u00a0also continue to collaborate internationally with NASA on the\u00a0Artemis\u00a0lunar\u00a0programme. This Spring,\u00a0another European Service Module,\u00a0ESM-3, for the third Artemis mission will be shipped to the United States\u00a0for mating with its Orion capsule.<\/p>\n
In 2024, Proba-3\u00a0will be launched, the first precision formation-flying mission.\u00a0The Coronagraph and Occulter spacecraft will fly together forming a 144 m\u00a0coronagraph studying the Sun\u2019s corona closer to the solar rim than ever before.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of the year,\u00a0the first scientific data gathered by\u00a0our\u00a0latest space telescope, Euclid, will be revealed. Euclid was designed to explore the composition and evolution of dark matter and dark energy.<\/p>\n
Another exciting mission that will launch later in 2024 is\u00a0the\u00a0Hera mission. This mission will fly to the binary asteroid system of Dimorphos and Didymos to observe the aftermath of the impact made by NASA\u2019s Dart\u00a0mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Earth\u00a0observation, there are several satellites ready to be launched: the ESA\/JAXA mission\u00a0EarthCARE\u00a0mission,\u00a0the Arctic Weather Satellite mission\u00a0and\u00a0the European Union\u2019s Copernicus Sentinel-1C and Sentinel-2C satellites.<\/p>\n
2024 will bring new developments as well for Galileo: two more first-generation satellites are to be launched in April, followed by two more later in the year. These will expand the constellation and help guarantee Galileo\u2019s optimal performance.\u00a0Meanwhile,\u00a0the first hardware deliveries will take place for the\u00a0second-generation Galileo satellites.<\/p>\n
The five\u00a0career astronauts from the 2022\u00a0astronaut class will finish their basic training\u00a0this year and then be ready\u00a0for mission assignments.<\/p>\n
For Swedish\u00a0project astronaut Marcus Wandt, there is no such wait. In January,\u00a0he\u00a0will be launched\u00a0to the\u00a0Space Station\u00a0as a mission specialist\u00a0on\u00a0the Axiom-3 commercial mission\u00a0– just time to catch up in space with his\u00a0Danish\u00a0colleague,\u00a0ESA\u00a0astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who\u00a0is\u00a0scheduled\u00a0to return to Earth after a six-month stay on the\u00a0Space Station\u00a0in February.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\t\t\t