The year 2025 is set to be a landmark for space exploration, with numerous significant missions planned by major space agencies and private companies. NASA is preparing to launch two identical spacecraft to Mars to study its magnetosphere, marking the first coordinated mission of its kind. This mission aims to investigate the Martian climate and wind patterns from orbit, with a launch expected in spring 2025.
Meanwhile, the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon after over fifty years, has faced delays. The second Artemis flight is now scheduled for April 2026, while the first lunar landing by a woman is expected in mid-2027. In the interim, private companies like Intuitive Machines, Firefly Aerospace, and Japan's Ispace are planning robotic missions to the Moon.
SpaceX is also gearing up for the sixth flight of its Starship rocket, the most powerful ever built, which is intended for future lunar missions and potentially crewed missions to Mars. Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin will test its New Glenn rocket to deploy an Amazon satellite constellation, while new European rockets from Rocket Lab are also on the agenda. Spain is advancing its Miura rocket design.
The European Space Agency plans to launch the Biomass mission to study the world's forests and carbon cycles using advanced radar technology. This mission is expected to launch from Kourou, French Guiana, in 2025.
Additionally, NASA's SPHEREx mission will conduct a comprehensive spectral mapping of the sky, while the Vera C. Rubin Observatory prepares to capture its first images of the night sky, which could provide critical insights into dark matter and the formation of our galaxy.
Political changes, including Donald Trump's return to the White House and the appointment of billionaire Jared Isaacman as NASA's new director, may influence the direction of these missions, potentially leading to substantial changes in space policy.