The best moments of NASA in this 2021 1:07
(CNN) -
Some of the most exciting space missions are set to begin in 2022.
This year the first images and scientific results from the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope are expected;
A new mission will be launched to study an unexplored world and a NASA spacecraft will be seen deliberately crashing into an asteroid's moon.
The sheer number of space missions launched in 2021 guarantees a year filled with new discoveries throughout the solar system ... and beyond.
What it's like to land on Mars and other space discoveries in 2021
Several countries are planning for 2022 to be the year they send robotic explorers to the Moon, while also planning the return of humans to the lunar surface in the future.
Here's what we can expect from our exploration of space in 2022:
Mars exploration
The most popular photos of Perseverance on Mars in 2021 0:49
Mars caught our attention in 2021, with three missions from different countries arriving on the red planet earlier this year, and interest in the planet is only increasing.
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Get ready for new and inspiring flights of NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which continues to operate strongly beyond its intended service life, and the beginning of the Perseverance rover's investigation of the intriguing remains of an ancient river delta on Mars beginning in the summer. .
Samples collected there could reveal whether there are organic molecules associated with signs of life, or even microfossils, on Mars.
Another robotic explorer will also land on the red planet.
Europe's first planetary rover is ready for launch.
The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover, a joint venture of the European Space Agency and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, is expected to take off in September.
It was initially scheduled to launch in July 2020, but agencies cited concerns about the coronavirus and the preparation of the spacecraft's components as obstacles to its launch.
ExoMars' broader program includes the Trace Gas Orbiter, which was launched to Mars in 2016 and has been sending science data.
The Trace Gas Orbiter will also transmit information collected by the rover after it lands on Mars.
Once the ExoMars rover launches in September from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, it will spend nine months navigating space before reaching Mars on June 10, 2023. The rover will land in Oxia Planum, an area north of the Martian equator.
Oxia Planum is an area that contains layers of clay-rich minerals that were formed in humid conditions 4,000 million years ago.
The mission aims to search for life on Mars and investigate its water past.
The rover has the ability to drill below the surface of Mars to a depth of 2 meters, where scientists hope to find signs of life.
Across the solar system
Get ready for more impressive images from NASA's Juno mission, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016. During its expanded mission, the spacecraft is moving to observe some of Jupiter's 79 moons.
In September it will do a close sweep of one of its most fascinating moons: Europa.
Europa intrigues scientists because under its ice shell is a global ocean that could support life.
Every now and then, columns of ice holes shoot out into space.
Juno could observe those columns in action.
Water vapor found on Jupiter's icy moon Europa reveals mystery
The first images and scientific data from the James Webb Space Telescope are expected in June and July.
The telescope is in search of the atmospheres of exoplanets and a deeper look than ever at the universe.
NASA will launch the Psyche spacecraft in August, sending it on a four-year journey to an unexplored potato-shaped world found in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The mission will study a metal-rich asteroid that only appears as a blur to ground and space telescopes.
The unusual object could be a leftover metal core from a planet or a chunk of primordial material that never melted, according to NASA.
Psyche could help astronomers better understand the formation of our solar system.
In September, get ready for another first when NASA deliberately crashes the DART spacecraft into an asteroid's moon to alter the motion of a near-Earth asteroid.
The Binary Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will target Dimorphos, a small moon that orbits Didymos, a near-Earth asteroid.
It will be the agency's first large-scale demonstration of this type of technology on behalf of planetary defense.
Although this asteroid and its moon pose no threat to Earth, it is a good way to test asteroid deflection technology.
The collision will be recorded by LICIACube, or Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroids, a complementary cubic satellite provided by the Italian Space Agency.
Three minutes after impact, the CubeSat will fly past Dimorphos to capture images and video.
Video of the impact will be broadcast to Earth, which should be "quite exciting," said Elena Adams, systems engineer for the DART mission at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
First photos of the DART mission that will hit an asteroid 1:00
With an eye on the moon
Everybody wants to send robots to the Moon in 2022.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will send its Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on a lunar mission in 2022.
The first Chandrayaan mission was launched in October 2008 as India's first unmanned lunar craft.
The orbiter "played a crucial role in the discovery of water molecules" on the Moon, according to NASA.
Although it fell silent in 2009, NASA was able to detect the location of the spacecraft in 2017.
In 2019, ISRO attempted to land Chandrayaan-2 near the lunar south pole, but it crashed shortly after crews lost contact with the lunar lander.
NASA later found the impact site and the debris field created by the crash.
However, the orbiter for that mission has remained safe as it continues to circle the Moon, and will be used as a communications transmitter for Chandrayaan-3.
The mission will include a lunar landing module and a rover similar to those of Chandrayaan-2.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is expected to launch the SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) mission in 2022.
The small spacecraft will be used to demonstrate precise lunar landing techniques that will serve as the basis for future moon exploration missions, according to the agency.
It will also return a lunar sample to Earth.
Russia is also moving ahead with its Luna-25 mission in 2022, which will be the first Russian lunar mission since 1976. It will land near the south pole of the Moon, in the Boguslavsky crater, and will carry scientific instruments and cameras to study its surroundings.
Preparation for manned space flights
In 2022, China will put the finishing touches on its space station, and crews from NASA and Roscosmos will continue to travel to and from the International Space Station.
The European Space Agency will also announce its new class of astronauts in November.
India is preparing to launch the country's first astronauts into space in 2023, so this year the Indian Organization for Space Research will launch the first two Gaganyaan unmanned missions to test the vehicle's capabilities.
Meanwhile, 2022 is expected to be a stress test for NASA's Artemis program, which will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon in 2025.
This is how the Artemis space mission would develop on the Moon 0:38
In January, the stacked spacecraft and rocket will undergo the final test, called a general test, which includes the completion of all propellant loading operations in the fuel tanks and the countdown to launch - basically everything necessary. for a launch, without actually doing it.
The launch of Artemis I, an unmanned mission that constitutes the first step of the ambitious program, will probably take off in March or April.
During the flight, the Orion spacecraft will launch onto the SLS rocket to reach the Moon and travel thousands of kilometers beyond it, more than any spacecraft designed to transport humans has ever traveled.
This mission is expected to last a few weeks and end with Orion's descent into the Pacific Ocean.
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