Upcoming space missions in 2022: Gaganyaan, KPLO, ExoMars

A collage showing an Infographic about Gaganyaan, and artistic renderings of NEA Scout and KPLO — Collage made by me. Credit for individual images listed below.

2022 is going to be an exciting year for spaceflight. There are multiple rockets scheduled to make their first flight this year, including the Space Launch System (SLS), Vulcan Centaur, Starship, and Ariane 6. NASA’s DART spacecraft will collide with an asteroid this fall and the James Webb Space Telescope will begin science operations.

In this article I want to highlight some of the lesser known missions that are launching this year, including the first flight of a new space plane and an unmanned test that will prepare India to launch humans to space.

KPLO

A small satellite orbits the moon with the Earth in the distance. The satellite has two solar panels and a small antenna on the top that can move freely. — Computer generated image of KPLO orbiting the moon. Credit: KARI

South Korea, a rising space power, is going to the moon this year. The Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) will be the first South Korean spacecraft to travel beyond Earth orbit. The small spacecraft has 5 science instruments, 4 of which were built by South Korea. The mission will launch from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in August of this year. The mission will spend a few months getting to the moon before entering orbit. The primary mission will last for about a year. I am going to make a page about this mission and provide more in-depth information.

The Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) is the South Korean space agency. It designed, built and manages KPLO. Recently, the Asian country has signed NASA’s Artemis Accords and test launched a new rocket, Nuri. Nuri, which is officially called Korean Space Launch Vehicle II (KSLV-II), is the first all-Korean rocket. It flew a partially successful test flight on October 21st, 2021. KARI also wants to land a rover on the Moon before 2030 using a South Korean built launch vehicle.

Debut of Dream Chaser

Towards the end of this year we might see the first flight of the Dream Chaser spaceplane.

Dream Chaser is a reusable spaceplane operated by Sierra Space. It's first flight will launch between November 2022 and February 2023 on a Vulcan Centaur rocket. It will the first of six spaceflights to resupply the International Space Station. The spacecraft that will be used for the flight has already been built and is currently undergoing testing.

A spaceplane with a black underbelly and white top lands on a runway. It has windows in the front and two wings that are swept upward. — A prototype Dream Chaser being tested at Edwards Air Force Base, Credit: NASA/ Ken Ulbrich

Dream Chaser has performed drop tests and glide flights but has yet to fly to space. Dream Chaser is designed to be highly adaptable. It can launch atop a variety of rockets, including the Atlas V, Vulcan Centaur, and Ariane 5 rockets. It can land on any runway that is long enough to support a Boeing 737. Sierra Space plans on making a crewed version of Dream Chaser. They also want to use Dream Chaser to deliver supplies and people to the Orbital Reef space station once it begins operations later this decade.

Artemis-1 CubeSats

A large solar sail is attached to a small satellite that is studying an asteroid. — NEA Scout is another one of the small spacecraft launching on Artemis-1. It will use a solar sail to navigate to a Near Earth Asteroid, Credit: NASA

NASA will debut the Space Launch System (SLS) with a test flight of Orion as part of Artemis-1. Artemis-1 is currently scheduled to fly in March of this year. The mission is the first major mission of the Artemis program and will prove the capabilities of SLS and Orion before it flies humans. The SLS rocket has been fully stacked and mated with Orion and will roll out to the launch pad in a few weeks.

The mission will also deploy 10 small satellites. These 10 satellites are part of a trend toward smaller spacecraft. One of the spacecraft that is launching, LunaH-Map, is small enough that it was delivered to Kennedy Space Center on a commercial flight as a carry-on bag. I wonder how they got that through security?

An infographic showing a crew capsule made of two major component, and orange crew capsule and a smaller service module with 3 engines and solar panels. — Infographic about the Gaganyaan spacecraft, Credit: Dean Sumith, Wikimedia Commons

Gaganyaan-1

For years, India has worked to launch humans into space. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has developed the Gaganyaan spacecraft, which will be capable of sending 4 astronauts to space. The first mission in the Gaganyaan program, Gaganyaan-1 will launch this year.

Gaganyaan-1 will be an unmanned test to verify many of the spacecraft's systems. ISRO will also fly Gaganyaan-2 later this year, which will also be unmanned. Gaganyann-3 will carry humans and will make India the 4th nation to launch humans into space. It may take place as early as 2023.

Mars launch window

In August, a launch window for Mars will open. About every two years, Earth and Mars align, which allows spacecraft to travel between the planets in less time. Only one dedicated Mars mission is scheduled for launch this year.

ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover and Roscosmos’ Kazachok lander will launch this year on a Proton rocket. It will land in mid-2023 and search for signs of past life on Mars. The mission is the second part of the two-part ExoMars program.