Introduction
The year 2024 is fast approaching and with it comes the potential for some exciting developments in space travel and exploration. As a space enthusiast, I have been eagerly following the latest news and breakthroughs in the commercial space industry. In this article, I will take a deep dive into the various space ventures that may finally come to fruition in 2024.
There are several key areas that show promise for 2024: space tourism, point-to-point travel on Earth, lunar exploration, and Mars missions. While ongoing challenges remain, I believe 2024 could mark the start of a new golden age of spaceflight. Join me as I explore what space travel might realistically look like just a couple years from now.
Space Tourism
Space tourism has been a much-hyped but elusive industry for decades. 2024 may be the year it finally takes off in a substantial way. With companies like Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX charging ahead, the technology for routine suborbital flights is nearly ready.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket has already carried passengers on brief trips to the edge of space. In 2024, they plan to begin commercial flights for space tourists on a regular basis. The experience involves a high-G vertical launch to over 100 km altitude, a few minutes of weightlessness, and a parachute descent back to Earth. Ticket prices will likely be in the $200,000-$500,000 range initially.
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo spaceplane also hopes to begin commercial operations in 2024. Their system involves air launching from a carrier jet, then firing a rocket motor to climb above 80 km. I anticipate ticket prices will be comparable to Blue Origin’s.
While suborbital hops will surely thrill, the most exciting prospect is orbital space tourism. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule has begun carrying astronauts to the International Space Station and even private citizens on multi-day orbital trips. In 2024, they may start dedicated launches just for space tourists, possibly including stops at future commercial space stations. Prices for orbital flights will probably exceed $50 million initially.
Point-to-Point Travel on Earth
Some companies are developing rockets for ultra-fast intercontinental travel in under an hour. Often called “space planes,” these point-to-point vehicles take off vertically and accelerate to hypersonic speeds before gliding to a landing halfway around the world.
SpaceX’s Starship (formerly known as Big Falcon Rocket) is one system proposed for point-to-point travel. It aims to transport up to 100 passengers between locations like New York and Shanghai in just 39 minutes. Virgin Galactic and Boom Technology are also working on mach 5+ aircraft for commercial service potentially beginning in 2024.
Such rapid transport could enable same-day business trips across the globe and fundamentally alter the aerospace industry. The big challenge will be reducing launch noise and risks to acceptable levels for transportation hubs. But initial testing looks promising.
Lunar Exploration
Over a half-century has passed since NASA’s Apollo program first sent astronauts to walk on the Moon. Now, a new era of lunar exploration may begin in 2024.
NASA’s Artemis program aims to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. Their powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft are currently undergoing integration testing. Orion’s first uncrewed test flight around the Moon is planned for 2024.
Furthermore, commercial partners like SpaceX and Blue Origin are contracted to build lunar landers capable of carrying astronauts from Orion down to the lunar surface. Ideally, everything will come together to enable the Artemis 3 crewed landing in 2024 as NASA hopes. Achieving this ambitious goal will demonstrate new technologies while laying the groundwork for sustained exploration of the Moon.
There is also growing global interest in lunar missions. In addition to NASA, space agencies in China, Russia, India, and elsewhere have robotic lunar probes planned for launch in the early 2020s. If successful, these could help pave the way for an international return of humans to the Moon.
Mars Exploration
The 2024 launch window will also include some highly anticipated Mars missions. After the success of the Perseverance rover, NASA is upping the ante by assembling the most complex robotic Mars explorer to date.
The Mars Sample Return mission will consist of multiple spacecraft and groundbreaking technologies. The main components include:
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Mars Sample Fetch Rover – To collect samples cached by Perseverance
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Mars Ascent Vehicle – Launches the samples off the surface into orbit
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Capture/Contain System – Grabs sample container in Mars orbit
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Earth Return Orbiter – Transports samples on roundtrip from Mars to Earth
If launched in 2024 as intended, this multi-year mission would return the first ever Martian samples to Earth in the early 2030s. Scientists eagerly anticipate analyzing the rocks, soil, and atmosphere in their laboratories to look for signs of life.
In addition, the joint Europe/Russia ExoMars rover is scheduled to launch in 2024. It will drill meters down to search for biomarkers and study Mars’ interior. China is also expected to attempt deploying its first Mars rover around 2024 after the 2020 Tianwen-1 orbiter.
Challenges and Conclusion
Despite all the optimism surrounding 2024, there are still plenty of factors that could delay progress. Securing sufficient funding, overcoming technical issues, adhering to extremely high safety standards for crewed flights, and mitigating environmental impacts are all challenges facing the ambitious programs above.
But with such strong momentum throughout public and private space sectors globally, I believe 2024 will mark a turning point. By the end of that year, we may well see the launch of multiple orbital space tourism ventures, point-to-point hypersonic travel, a lunar landing, and Mars sample return. Each of those achievements could pave the way for even bolder ventures in the years ahead.
After multiple decades of minimal advances in human spaceflight, it feels like we are on the cusp of a renaissance. Of course, not everything listed here will happen precisely on schedule – but I am confident many of these initiatives will begin coming to fruition around 2024. For me and many fellow space enthusiasts, that promises a future full of excitement and discovery. The 2020s may well go down as the decade where space travel truly took off into an ambitious new era of exploration.
