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.
A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off with a multi-national group of specialists for a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Ongoing research aboard the orbital laboratory is designed to benefit humans living on and off the Earth. What is learned in orbit will help NASA prepare for long-term operations on and around the Moon and eventual exploration of Mars.
In December 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 became the first humans to leave Earth orbit and head for the Moon. They also became the first to look back at their home planet and see the entire world in one glimpse. The view they shared had an everlasting impact. In the decades since humans have looked back at their home planet from the vantage point of space, astronauts have taken stunning photographs providing a new perspective of Earth and its place in the universe.
The second uncrewed flight test of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft lifted off to prove 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 laboratory.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 3:52 a.m. EDT on the morning of April 27, 2022, boosting the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. NASA’s Crew-4 astronauts plan to spend six months conducting research to improve life on Earth. Their work also will aid agency preparations for exploration beyond Earth.
Another diverse crew of astronauts has launched from NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center for an extended stay aboard the International Space Station. A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft streaked into the night sky atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Florida Spaceport.
After more than six months aboard the International Space Station, the Crew 2 astronauts splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida at 10:33 p.m. EST on Nov. 8, 2021. Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA were aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft with Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the European Space Agency’s Thomas Pesquet of France.
After 168 days in space, NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, along with Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, returned to Earth landing in pre-dawn darkness at 2:56 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2021 completing the Crew-1 mission. Liftoff atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took place Nov. 15, 2021, from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 streaked into the early morning sky from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center launching four astronauts to the International Space Station. The Crew-2 mission is the first to fly two astronauts from other nations as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket took place at 5:49 a.m. EDT April 23, 2021.
The SpaceX Crew-1 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on Nov. 16, 2020 with NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi. Their arrival continues two decades of work by astronauts from around the world living and working aboard the orbiting laboratory.