2022: A Landmark Year for NASA

January 20, 2023

*Behind the curtain of dust and gas in these “Cosmic Cliffs” are previously hidden baby stars, now uncovered by James Webb Space Telescope. Photo credit: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI*

By Bob Granath

Capped by the highly successful Artemis I mission, 2022 was a landmark year for NASA. Groundbreaking research continued in Earth orbit, a new human-rated spacecraft circled the Moon, robotic exploration of Mars reached important milestones and the agency’s newest telescope revealed never-before seen images of the universe.

*On Nov. 16, 2022, the Space Launch System rocket lifts off generating 8.8 million pounds of thrust from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath*

The year “2022 will go down in history books as one of the most accomplished across all of NASA’s history and missions,” said the agency’s Administrator Bill Nelson in a recent presentation at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “There’s so much to look forward to in 2023 also.”

On Florida’s Space Coast, a record 57 rockets were launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This is another example of the success of efforts by NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana and Center Director Janet Petro to establish America’s premier multi-user spaceport. Their efforts began in the waning years of the Space Shuttle Program when Cabana was center director and Petro was his deputy.

The past year also marked the 60th anniversary of Kennedy being established as a civilian-operated site for sending Apollo astronauts to the Moon.

“As we celebrate this diamond anniversary, I can’t help but think back to the early days of Kennedy and what it must have felt like to embrace the challenge of making the impossible possible,” Petro said in recalling the center’s history. “For six decades, NASA has turned science fiction into science fact, and every single mission launched from this center is intended to benefit life right here on Earth. Through Artemis, the first woman and first person of color will step on the Moon.”

NASA’s Mega-Moon Rocket

Just before firing its engine to enter lunar orbit, Orion’s cameras photographed the Moon with the Earth in the distance. Photo credit: NASA

Artemis I was the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket along with its supporting ground systems. After a record-breaking mission traveling more than 1.4 million miles on a path around the Moon, Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California, on Dec. 11, 2022.

“From the launch of the world’s most powerful rocket to the exceptional journey around the Moon and back to Earth, this flight test is a major step forward in the Artemis generation of lunar exploration,” Nelson said. “For years, thousands of individuals poured themselves into this mission, which is inspiring the world to work together to reach untouched cosmic shores.”

On Dec. 11, 2022, NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean with the USS Portland seen in the distance after a 26-day mission to the Moon. The U.S. Navy and NASA Landing and Recovery team aboard the USS Portland are recovering Orion. Photo credit: NASA

On Nov. 16, 2022, the mega-Moon rocket generated 8.8 million pounds of thrust as it lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy. Artemis I confirmed that the SLS and Orion performed as designed, checked out its capabilities, while circling the Moon and returning safely to Earth. The mission demonstrated that NASA is ready for future crewed flights to lunar orbit during Artemis II and, later, landing on the surface.

During the 26-day mission, Orion completed two lunar flybys, orbiting to within 80 miles of the surface. The spacecraft also traveled nearly 270,000 miles from Earth to test its systems before flying crew to orbit the Moon in 2024.

“With Orion safely returned to Earth we can begin to see our next mission on the horizon, which will fly crew to the Moon for the first time as a part of the next era of exploration,” said Jim Free, NASA associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. “This begins our path to a regular cadence of missions and a sustained human presence at the Moon for scientific discovery and to prepare for human missions to Mars.”

Surprising Beauty

A new era in astronomy began on July 12, 2022 with the release of the first stunning images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency.

By combining images from two cameras aboard NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, orange dust drapes the top of the image, relaxing into a V. The densest regions of dust are cast in deep indigo hues, obscuring the view of the activities inside the dense pillars. Photo credit: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI

“We are elated to celebrate this extraordinary day with the world,” said Greg Robinson, Webb program director at NASA Headquarters. “The beautiful diversity and incredible detail of the Webb telescope’s images and data will have a profound impact on our understanding of the universe and inspire us to dream big.”

The Webb Telescope was launched atop an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, ESA’s Spaceport in French Guiana on Christmas Day 2021. It arrived at its current location, about 1 million miles from Earth, in January 2022.

After completing deployment of its tennis court-sized sunshield, Webb underwent months of commissioning in which its mirrors were aligned and instruments were calibrated. It is the largest optical telescope in space with such high resolution and sensitivity allowing it to view objects too old, distant or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope, in Earth orbit since 1990.

The M74 galaxy shines at its brightest in this image from both the James Webb Space Telescope. — *The M74 galaxy shines at its brightest in this image from the James Webb Space Telescope. Photo credit: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI*

“The (Webb Telescope’s) equipment is working perfectly and nature is full of surprising beauty,” said John Mather, Webb senior project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Webb is providing astronomers new views of planets in the solar system as well as the ability to study the atmospheres of exoplanets – planets beyond the solar system. The telescope also is allowing more never before seen details of some of the earliest formed and distant galaxies.

Orbiting Laboratory

The SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off on Oct. 5, 2022 from launch Complex 39 A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center beginning the Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

For the 22nd year, crews continued human presence in low-Earth orbit performing research aboard the International Space Station. Last year NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft on March 30, 2022, completing the longest single human spaceflight mission by an American with a record-breaking 355 days in space.

On Nov. 3, 2022, the seven Expedition 68 crewmembers join each other for a portrait inside the International Space Station. From the left are Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina; NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata; NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev. Photo credit: NASA

Crew-3 returned to Earth on May 6, 2022 with Kayla Barron, Raja Chari and Tom Marshburn, along with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer of Germany. On April 27, 2022, NASA and SpaceX launched Crew-4 with U.S. astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins, as well as ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy aboard the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. They returned Oct. 14, 2022 after completing 170 days in orbit.

Crew-5 arrived at the space station on Oct. 6, 2022 carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, and Josh Cassada, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina of Russia. The current residents aboard the orbiting laboratory are conducting research in cardiovascular health, bioprinting and fluid behavior in the microgravity environment of space. All is designed to benefit life on Earth and to prepare for human exploration beyond.

CST-100 Starliner

Orbital Flight Test-2, the second uncrewed flight test of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft lifted off on May 19, 2022 atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex-41 at the Cape. The successful mission proved the system could safely carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. It is another step toward NASA having two different spacecraft to send astronauts from American soil to the orbiting lab.

NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore, left, and Sunita "Suni" Williams. — *NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore, left, and Sunita “Suni” Williams. Photo credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz*

NASA and Boeing teams continue to conduct training and testing ahead of the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT), scheduled to launch to the space station this year as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. For CFT, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will launch NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore as commander and Suni Williams as pilot returning approximately eight days later, landing in White Sands, New Mexico.

“We knew we would learn a lot from the (OFT-2) flight and there would be some fine-turning needed to make the systems work together and operate fully as intended,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager for Boeing’s Starliner program. “We are excited to have Butch and Suni onboard our next mission.”

Exploring Mars

Research aboard the International Space Station and development of the Orion spacecraft are designed to lead to human exploration of Mars. Robotic spacecraft currently are paving the way for these missions.

*This image taken by a camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover on Nov. 5, 2022 shows the “Yori Pass” showing a sediment-rich location in this Mars delta. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech*

NASA’s Perseverance rover recently explored an area of Mars dubbed “Yori Pass” near the base of Jezero Crater’s ancient river delta. The science team is eager to explore there after discovering a rock similar to one Perseverance collected samples from in July 2022.

According to Katie Stack Morgan, Perseverance deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, scientists believe the rock is sandstone, which is composed of fine grains that have been carried from elsewhere by water before settling and forming the stone.

*NASA’s Perseverance rover deposited the first of several samples onto the Martian surface on Dec. 21, 2022. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS*

“We often prioritize study of fine-grained sedimentary rocks like this one in our search for organics and potential biosignatures (signs of life forms),” she said. “What’s especially interesting about the Yori Pass outcrop is that it is laterally equivalent with ‘Hogwallow Flats,’ where we found very fine-grained sedimentary rocks. That means that the rock bed is located at the same elevation as Hogwallow, and has a large, traceable (area) visible on the surface.”

Perseverance’s samples are central to the first step in the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return effort, which began when the rover cached its first cored rock sample in September 2021. On Dec. 21, 2022, a titanium tube containing a rock sample was placed on the Red Planet’s surface by Perseverance. Over the next two months, the rover will deposit 10 tubes at the location. Plans call for NASA missions in cooperation with ESA, to send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

Planetary Defense

After 10 months flying in space, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, was the first planetary defense technology demonstration. The spacecraft successfully impacted its target asteroid, Dimorphos, on Sept. 26, 2022 and altered its path. DART tested a process of planetary defense against potential damage from near-Earth objects that could enter the atmosphere and hit terrestrial objects. The spacecraft demonstrated that its impact could deflect an asteroid through its transfer of momentum when hitting the asteroid head-on.

Asteroid Dimorphos is seen by NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft 11 seconds before impact. DART’s onboard imager captured this photograph from a distance of 42 miles. Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

The DART spacecraft was launched on Nov. 24, 2021. It intentionally slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos, altering its orbit. The science team has studied the results of the test to determine if such a planetary defense technique could be used if needed.

DART team members reported on their preliminary findings during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union on Dec. 15, 2022. According to Tom Statler, the program scientist for DART at NASA headquarters in Washington, the DART mission is a part of NASA’s continuing efforts to understand asteroids and other small bodies in the solar system.

“Impacting the asteroid was just the start,” Statler said. “Now we will be using these observations to study what these bodies are made of and how they were formed – as well as how to defend our planet should there ever be an asteroid headed our way.”

Reducing the Boom

NASA is working with Lockheed Martin to develop an aircraft designed to reduce annoying sonic booms. The hope is to resume forms of travel faster than the speed of sound – about 760 mph. The X-59 Quesst is being manufactured at Lockheed Martin’s famed Skunk Works where some of the most important aircraft in aviation history were designed, built and flown.

A General Electric Aviation engine is installed in NASA’s quiet supersonic X-59 Quesst aircraft, at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The 13-foot-long engine packs 22,000 pounds of propulsion energy and will power the X-59 to speeds up to Mach 1.4. Photo credit: NASA/Carla Thomas

In November 2022, a 13-foot-long engine from General Electric Aviation was installed, marking a major milestone as the X-59 approaches the completion of its assembly. Additionally, critical ground tests and wind tunnel trials took place at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

“The engine installation is the culmination of years of design and planning by the NASA, Lockheed Martin, and General Electric Aviation teams,” said Ray Castner, NASA’s propulsion performance lead for the X-59. “I am both impressed with and proud of this combined team that’s spent the past few months developing the key procedures, which allowed for a smooth installation.”

NASA plans to conduct test flights of the X-59 over communities around the U.S. starting in 2025. The goal is to collect the data necessary to open the future to commercial supersonic flight over land, greatly reducing flight times.

A pilot will fly the 99.7-foot-long, 29.5-foot-wide aircraft traveling at Mach 1.4, or 925 mph, flying at 55,000 feet. Engineers believe the experimental X-59 will create a barely-audible sonic boom sounding more like a “thump” on the ground. If successful, it could change the rules that currently ban supersonic flight over land.

In his recent remarks, Nelson noted that there is much to look forward to in 2023.

Plans call for “more stunning discoveries from the Webb telescope, continued science on the International Space Station (and) the selection of the first astronauts to go to the Moon in more than 50 years,” he said. “We’re never going to stop exploring the unknown in air and space. We’re not going to stop innovating for the benefit of humanity and inspiring the world through discovery. And there is a lot more coming.”