Science in 2022: Omicron, lunar missions and particle physics

At Michigan State University in East Lansing, this facility is used » Rare Isotope Beam« It is expected to become operational in early 2022. The multi-stage accelerator, which is expected to cost US$730 million, will be used to synthesize thousands of new isotopes of known elements and to probe the basic structure and physics of neutron stars and supernova explosions.

you fly to the moon again

A veritable armada of orbiters and landing equipment from space agencies and private companies is ready for the Moon in 2022. With the “Artemis I” orbiter, NASA will conduct the first test of the long-pending launch system, which is supposed to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon. And this » Capstone«-Orbiter The agency will conduct experiments in preparation for the first space station to orbit the Moon. called Gateway.

India’s third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, will be the country’s first instrument to make a soft landing without damaging the spacecraft – and carry its own rover. Japan will also attempt its first soft landing on the Moon with the SLIM mission, and Russia intends to build on the glory of the Soviet lunar program with the Luna 25 lander. The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter will begin its lunar exploration of South Korea.

Privately, Tokyo-based company iSpace is launching the Hakuto-R lander, which will carry the United Arab Emirates’ moon rover Rashid. Two US companies, Astrobotic Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Intuitive Machines in Houston, Texas, are preparing probes to bring NASA instruments to the surface of the Moon.

it goes to mars and stars

Another epic space journey will be Russian-European ExoMars-Mission Which should start in September. If all goes according to plan, she will bring the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars, where it will search for traces of past lives. The launch was originally planned for 2020, but has been postponed, among other things, due to problems with the parachutes needed for a safe landing.

China also plans to complete its “Tiangong” space station and has more than 1,000 experiments planned for it, ranging from astronomical and Earth observations to the effects of microgravity and cosmic rays on bacterial growth.