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   Technicians remove the samples collected on the moon's far side from the   
   return capsule of the Chang'e 6 lunar mission. (Image credit: CCTV)   
   4) China's Chang'e 6 mission brings samples home from the moon's far side   
   China's robotic Chang'e 6 mission returned samples from the moon's far   
   side to Earth for the first time ever this year. Chang'e 6 launched on   
   May 3 from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the island of Hainan,   
   located in southern China. Consisting of four elements — a lunar   
   orbiter, a lander, an ascender and an Earth-reentry module, the Chang'e   
   6 moon probe rode a Long March 5 rocket into orbit.   
      
   On June 1, the Chang'e 6 lander touched down in the southern pocket of   
   the unexplored Apollo crater in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin to   
   scoop and drill unique samples, which were then transferred to the   
   ascender and shot back up into the moon's orbit. The next step was   
   transferring the samples between the ascender and its orbital module.   
   The rendezvous was successful, and the two spacecraft docked on June 6,   
   transferred the samples, and then separated again.   
      
   Next, the Chang'e 6 orbiter conducted its moon-to-Earth transfer   
   injection maneuver, so the 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of lunar samples   
   could come back to Earth. The sample capsule landed June 25 under   
   parachutes in Inner Mongolia's grasslands. After scientists conducted an   
   initial study of the lunar samples Chang'e collected, they found the   
   samples have a lower density compared to other returned moon material.   
   Further analysis could be important to understanding more about the   
   moon's origin and evolution.   
      
   Related: The moon: Everything you need to know about Earth's companion   
      
   an astronaut in a white spacesuit is halfway out of a space capsule in   
   oribt, silhouetted against earth in the background   
      
   Polaris Dawn commander Jared Isaacman is silhouetted against Earth as he   
   becomes the first private astronaut to perform a spacewalk on Sept. 12,   
   2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)   
   5) SpaceX's Polaris Dawn private astronaut mission   
   SpaceX made history with the Polaris Dawn mission, which conducted the   
   first-ever private spacewalk. Backed by billionaire Jared Isaacman, the   
   Polaris Program's inaugural mission was originally scheduled for an Aug.   
   26 launch, which was delayed for additional preflight checks, and then   
   delayed again due to unfavorable launch and return conditions.   
      
   The mission finally launched on Sept. 10 with the Crew Dragon capsule   
   Resilience riding a Falcon 9 rocket to reach an elliptical orbit around   
   Earth. On the first day of Polaris Dawn's five-day mission, Resilience   
   reached a maximum altitude of 870 miles (1,401 kilometers) on its first   
   day in space, higher than any other crewed Earth-orbiting spacecraft in   
   history.   
      
   Aside from Isaacman, the crew consisted of former U.S. Air Force   
   lieutenant colonel Scott Poteet, the mission's pilot, and SpaceX   
   engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. Using new SpaceX-designed   
   spacesuits, Isaacman partially exited Resilience for a spacewalk on   
   Sept. 12, followed by Gillis a few minutes later.   
      
   The mission also completed science and engineering experiments,   
   including testing the internet in space by communication with SpaceX's   
   Starlink network. On Sept. 15, the Polaris Dawn crew capsule splashed   
   down safely off Florida's coast in the Gulf of Mexico. During the   
   mission, Gillis and Menon set the record for highest-flying women,   
   breaking the previous record set by NASA astronaut Kathryn Sullivan   
   during the STS-31 space shuttle mission in 1990.   
      
   6) Europa Clipper launches toward Jupiter's intriguing ocean moon   
   NASA's highly anticipated Europa Clipper mission to the icy Jupiter   
   ocean moon Europa launched Oct. 14, riding a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket   
   into the sky from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The $5 billion Europa   
   Clipper represents years of work and ambition to find out if the far-off   
   moon could possibly support life.   
      
   Scientists think that a liquid ocean of saltwater sits beneath Europa's   
   surface of ice. The solar-powered orbiter — which is one of the most   
   sophisticated spacecraft ever built — will be the first to investigate   
   the habitability of an ocean world. After using the gravity of Mars and   
   Earth as a slingshot, Europa Clipper is targeted to reach its   
   destination in 2030 after traveling 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion   
   kilometers).   
      
   U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón wrote a poem, which is engraved in the   
   poet's handwriting on the spacecraft's vault plate, to commemorate the   
   occasion. In November, the orbiter successfully deployed two scientific   
   instruments, the magnetometer's boom and antennas for Europa Clipper's   
   radar instrument, which will remain extended for the duration of the   
   journey to the Jupiter moon.   
      
   7) Mars helicopter Ingenuity says goodbye   
   The robotic helicopter landed on Mars with NASA's Perseverance rover in   
   February 2021, tasked with completing five technology-demonstrating   
   flights on the Red Planet. Seventy-two flights later, NASA finally said   
   goodbye to Ingenuity on April 16 of this year after its rotors sustained   
   damage during a hard landing on the rough Martian terrain.   
      
   The 4-pound (1.8 kg) Ingenuity became the first aircraft to ever fly on   
   the Red Planet, which is no small feat considering Mars's thin   
   atmosphere. After it became clear that the rotocopter would outlast five   
   flights and its mission was extended, Ingenuity began serving as a scout   
   for Perseverance.   
      
   Ingenuity proved that drones could fly in Mars' atmosphere, paving the   
   way for potential future Martian aircraft. And even though the   
   helicopter is no longer airborne, its avionics battery sensors remain   
   functional. On Dec. 11, mission team members said that Ingenuity can   
   live a second life as a kind of weather station by recording telemetry   
   and taking images to store onboard.   
      
   Related: After accident on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter could live   
   on as a weather station for 20 years   
      
   a white rocket launches into a night sky   
      
   ULA's Vulcan Centaur launches the Peregrine moon lander on Jan. 8, 2024.   
   (Image credit: ULA)   
   8) ULA debuts its powerful new Vulcan Centaur rocket   
   This year saw the first two certification launches for United Launch   
   Alliance's (ULA) new Vulcan Centaur rocket, which is outfitted with a   
   pair of BE-4 first-stage engines built by Blue Origin. With the goal of   
   replacing ULA's older Atlas and Delta rockets, Vulcan Center made its   
   first liftoff on Jan. 8 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It   
   carried a robotic lunar lander called Peregrine, which was built by the   
   Pittsburgh company Astrobotic.   
      
   While the launch went off without a hitch, Peregrine ran into trouble   
   due to a faulty helium pressure control valve and never made it to the   
   moon. The lunar lander wandered through space for more than a week   
   before being steered back for a controlled destruction in Earth's   
   atmosphere.   
      
   Vulcan's second certification launch, which occurred on Oct. 4, flew   
   without a paying customer. A little over 30 seconds after the rocket   
   lifted off, a nozzle on one of Vulcan's solid rocket boosters (SRBs)   
   malfunctioned, causing the rocket to veer, before the main engines   
   corrected the course and the rocket successfully completed its flight.   
   Next, Vulcan will fly its first national security mission for the U.S.   
   Space Force, which is currently scheduled for early 2025.   
      
   The new Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket for the European Space Agency (ESA)   
   also launched for the first time this year, on July 9 from Europe's   
      
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   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)