Space missions to look forward to in 2025

Exploration of the Moon’s surface with CLPS

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Delivery Service (CLPS) is an initiative to deliver scientific and technological cargo to the Moon using commercial landers. Previously, in the CLPS program, Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander arrived on the Moon in February 2024, becoming the first US ship to land here since the Apollo era. In 2025, NASA plans several CLPS missions, including Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace.

These missions will transport a variety of scientific and technological equipment and experiments to several different locations on the Moon to study geology, test new equipment for future manned missions and collect environmental data.

Survey the sky with SPHEREx

In February 2025, NASA plans to launch the SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observatory. This mission will survey the sky using near-infrared light, a type of light that cannot be seen with the naked eye but can be detected by special equipment. Near-infrared light is useful in observing objects that are too cold or too far away to see with visible light.

SPHEREx will create a comprehensive map of the universe by surveying and collecting data from more than 450 million galaxies and more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way. Astronomers will use this data to answer many big questions about galaxy origins and the distribution of water and organic molecules in stellar nurseries, where stars are born from dust and gas.

Study low Earth orbit with Space Rider

The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to conduct an orbital test of the Space Rider unmanned space plane in the third quarter of 2025. Space Rider is a reusable spacecraft designed to conduct various scientific experiments in low Earth orbit. These scientific experiments include studying microgravity, the nearly weightless environment of space. Scientists will learn how plants grow, how materials behave and how biological processes work without the influence of gravity.

Space Rider will also test new technology for future missions. For example, it will test advanced telecommunications systems, which play an essential role in maintaining communication with spacecraft over long distances. The spacecraft also looks at robotic exploration tools for use on lunar or Mars missions.

Explore the Moon with M2/Resilience

The M2/Resilience mission, scheduled to launch in January 2025, will bring the lander and small rover to the lunar surface. This mission will study lunar soil to understand its composition and characteristics. Researchers will also conduct a water splitting test to produce oxygen and hydrogen by mining water from the lunar surface, heating it and separating the resulting water vapor. The water, oxygen and hydrogen produced can be used for long-term lunar exploration.

The M2/Resilience mission will also test new technology such as an advanced navigation system for precision landing and an autonomous robotic operating system, which could be used on future missions.

Research asteroids with Thien Van 2

China’s Tianwen 2 mission is a mission to probe comets and bring asteroid samples back to Earth. Scheduled to launch in May 2025, Thien Van 2 aims to collect near-Earth asteroid samples and study a comet. The mission will advance scientists’ understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system, building on the success of China’s previous lunar and Mars missions. The mission’s first target is near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa. This is a pseudo-satellite of the Earth, meaning it orbits the Sun but is close to the Earth. Kamoʻoalewa is 40 – 100 m in diameter and may be lunar debris ejected into space from a past impact event.

By studying this asteroid, scientists hope to learn about the early solar system and the processes that shaped it. The spacecraft will use both touch-off and docking techniques to collect samples from the asteroid’s surface. After collecting samples from Kamoʻoalewa, Thien Van 2 will bring them back to Earth and depart for the second target, comet 311P/PANSTARRS in the main belt. This comet is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. By analyzing cometary materials, researchers hope to better understand the conditions of the early solar system as well as the origins of water and organic molecules on Earth.