What's to Come in 2021?
2021 is set to be a monumental year for NASA and JSC is playing a key role in many of the upcoming activities. Whether training astronauts and planning missions, leading commercial and international partnerships, or lending scientific and engineering expertise for deep space missions, JSC is leading the way for the agency and the world. See a few of the many, many, activities NASA and JSC have planned for the year below.
Artemis
NASA is scheduled to take a giant leap toward the goal of landing humans on the surface of the Moon this year by launching Artemis I. In preparation for the mission, the Space Launch System is approaching the key Green Run test that will set the stage for shipment of the core stage to Kennedy ahead of its launch of Orion on a journey around the Moon toward the end of the year. 2021 will also see great progress for Gateway, which has been hard at work bringing on international partners as part of its sustainable architecture for Artemis. Two of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services partners are expected to deliver payloads to the Moon later this year.
Commercial Crew
Working with our commercial partners, NASA plans to celebrate the splashdown of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission, the launch and return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2, and the launch and return of NASA’s Boeing’s OFT-2 uncrewed test flight. NASA also anticipates the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 launch and Boeing’s Crewed Test Flight.
New Astronauts Announced
There will be some new faces around campus as NASA plans to announce the 2021 class of astronaut candidates this year. These astronauts will undergo two years of training and be eligible for exciting missions to the space station and potentially the Moon after they complete training.
Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover is scheduled to land on Mars next month with the goal of exploring the Jezero crater near the equator of the planet. This mission will also feature the Ingenuity helicopter, which will attempt to be the first helicopter to fly on Mars.
James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to launch this year. This space observatory will unlock secrets of the universe as we will be able to use some of the oldest light in the universe to better understand the formation of our world and the galaxies around us.
Others in Space
NASA’s goal of commercializing low-Earth orbit is taking hold as other space missions are being planned for 2021 that would not have been possible without the leadership and ingenuity of the NASA team.