What breakthroughs will the space industry see in 2018?
2018 will undoubtedly continue to witness global efforts in the pursuit of space exploration.
The GSLV-F09 missile is on the launch pad. This time, the Chandrayaan-2 vessel will be launched using the GSLV-F10 missile - Photo: ISRO
Here are some of the highlights, according to the BBC:
India visits "the Moon Goddess"
The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft (India), the successor to the Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe from 2008, is responsible for exploring the moon.
While its predecessor only orbited the moon, Chandrayaan-2 was tasked with landing on the surface and exploring the moon's home. The spacecraft was developed by the Indian National Space Agency (ISRO) based on the older model.
The GSLV-F10 rocket will launch the Chandrayaan-2 warrior into space from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra, possibly next March.
NASA's Mars conquest plan - Photo: NASA
Leaving Earth for the "red planet"
In May, NASA will launch the InSight spacecraft to Mars, which is expected to arrive in November.InSight is an acronym for "Inside Exploration using Seismic Surveying, Geometry and Thermal Transport".
InSight will use sophisticated equipment to explore the depths beneath the surface of the "red planet" in order to understand its geological formation processes.
InSight will also listen for earthquake signals on Mars, which will provide scientists with more information about the planet's internal structure.
The H-IIA rocket, launched in 2014, carried the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft - Photo: AP
Japan and the EU conquer the asteroid.
In July, the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft of the Japan Aerospace Research and Development Agency (JAXA) will make its way to the asteroid 1162173 Ryugu.
Earlier in 2014, the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan using an H-IIA rocket.
The spacecraft's mission is to collect rock and soil samples from the asteroid and return to Earth, scheduled for 2020.
The "veteran" Hayabusa-1 captured unimaginable images while exploring the Itokawa asteroid. Despite encountering some risks, Hayabusa-1 returned to Earth with abundant spoils for scientists.
Engineers have improved Hayabusa-1 to create this spacecraft, tasked with collecting more data and potentially deploying more mini-robots to the surface of the Ryugu asteroid.
NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft was launched in 2016 - Source: NASA
Japan is not the only country undertaking a mission to explore a minor planet in 2018. NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft, launched in 2016, will approach the asteroid Bennu in August.
The asteroid Bennu was chosen by scientists because of its carbon-rich surface in order to learn more about the formation of the solar system.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will not land but will use a probe resembling a mosquito's proboscis to collect soil and rock samples to bring back to Earth for analysis.
The BepiColombo spacecraft is on a mission to explore Mercury - Photo: ESA
Let's begin exploring Mercury.
Ultimately, Europe and Japan will undertake the mission to explore the first planet in our solar system: Mercury.
The mission undertaken by the BepiColombo spacecraft will seek to gain deeper insights into Mercury, following in the footsteps of NASA's Messenger spacecraft.
The ship has an unusual design, carrying two smaller vessels – one European and one Japanese.
These two spacecraft will separate from the mother ship upon reaching Mercury and fly in two different but complementary orbits around Mercury, with missions including detailed mapping and exploration of Mercury's magnetic field.
Billionaire Elon Musk reveals his "massive" spacecraft design on Twitter - Photo: Twitter
The private aerospace race
2018 will be the year that Elon Musk's SpaceX company launches one of the most powerful rockets ever produced in the Falcon Heavy series.
Last December, Elon Musk released photos of the giant spacecraft undergoing testing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
A 70-meter-long spacecraft designed to carry 57 tons into space allows SpaceX to become the new launch vehicle market with the goal of putting astronauts into Earth orbit.
However, SpaceX and other private aerospace companies will most likely have to extend their launch into 2019.
The Soyuz rocket is now responsible for transporting American astronauts to the International Space Station after the US space shuttle mission ended - Photo: NASA
Currently, SpaceX and Boeing are working on launching the first spacecraft from American soil since NASA's last space shuttle retired in 2011. Since then, the U.S. has relied on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to transport people to the ISS.
Both companies planned their strategies: first, conduct unmanned test flights to gather technical information. Then, they intended to try transporting astronauts using their vehicles.
Because it involves the lives of the astronauts, the process may very well be delayed.
However, any progress made by both SpaceX and Boeing in the coming year will be noted and could begin to bring in contracts for transporting astronauts to the space station in the future.
