1. Starship Flight Test 5:

The world's most powerful rocket soared into the skies once again – and this time, it made a triumphant return. The fifth flight test of the SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle, known as Starship Flight Test 5, marked a milestone in the pursuit of fully reusable rocket technology. Conducted on October 13, 2024, this ambitious test aimed to demonstrate the Starship's potential for carrying humans and cargo to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. After a flawless liftoff, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and coast, the Super Heavy booster executed a precise landing burn and was skillfully captured mid-air by the robotic chopstick arms of Mechazilla (Mechazilla is SpaceX's gigantic launch tower, equipped with massive robotic arms specifically designed to catch rockets mid-air during landing).

2. The SpaDeX Mission:

The SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) mission is an economical technology demonstrator designed to showcase in-space docking using two small spacecraft. Launched together from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India on 30 December 2024 aboard a dedicated PSLV, the spacecraft were placed into slightly different orbits. The main goal of the SpaDeX mission is to develop and exhibit the technology required for rendezvous, docking, and undocking of two small spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. In the early hours of 16 January 2025, ISRO successfully completed the docking of the two SpaDeX satellites (SDX-01 & SDX-02). With this success, India becomes the fourth country in the world to achieve this technological feat, joining the elite group of nations capable of executing space docking operations after the USA, Russia, and China.

3. The Chang'e-6 Mission:

The Chang'e-6 mission is part of China's ambitious lunar exploration program, specifically targeting a sample return from the Moon. Chang'e-6's primary objective was to collect samples from the Moon's South Pole region, an area that hadn't been explored as thoroughly by other missions, making it scientifically significant. Launched on May 3, 2024, atop a Long March 5 rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Center, Chang'e-6 aimed to collect rock and soil samples from the Moon's far side, specifically the South Pole-Aitken Basin. The mission successfully landed on June 1, 2024, and collected samples using a robotic scoop and drill. The ascent module then lifted off from the lunar surface on June 3, 2024, carrying the samples and docked with the orbiter in lunar orbit. The orbiter, with the return capsule containing the samples, totaling 1,935.3 grams, landed in Inner Mongolia, China, on June 25, 2024. This mission is notable for being the first to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon, marking a significant milestone in China's lunar exploration program. This also marks the second time China has successfully retrieved lunar samples and brought them back to Earth. Previously, this feat was achieved by the Chang'e-5 mission, which successfully brought back 1,731 grams of lunar soil and rock samples in 2020.

4. The Polaris Dawn Spacewalk:

On September 12, 2024, the Polaris Dawn crew achieved a historic milestone with the first-ever commercial spacewalk from SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, 732 km above Earth. The spacewalk included a series of mobility checks and experiments. The four-member crew underwent a meticulous pre-breathe process to ensure safety before Mission Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis executed suit mobility tests in the vacuum of space. Remarkably, the Polaris Dawn crew became the first group of four astronauts to be exposed to the vacuum of space simultaneously. This event also marked the first time that two SpaceX employees joined a human spaceflight crew, paving the way for future missions and the dream of making life multiplanetary.

5. SLIM's Lunar Triumph:

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), also known as "Moon Sniper," was a lunar lander mission by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The SLIM project aimed to develop and test pinpoint landing technology necessary for future lunar missions. Using a small-scale probe, the mission demonstrated and validated these advanced landing techniques directly on the Moon's surface. It was launched on September 6, 2023, entered lunar orbit on December 25 2023 and successfully landed near the Shioli crater on January 19, 2024, making Japan the fifth country to achieve a soft lunar landing. Once on the lunar surface, SLIM began its scientific operations and conducted various experiments and collected data, contributing to our understanding of the Moon's surface and environment. The mission lasted for about seven months, enduring the extreme conditions of multiple lunar days and nights, ending its mission on August 23, 2024.

6. Ingenuity's Final Flight:

Ingenuity is a small, autonomous helicopter designed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as part of the Mars 2020 mission. The helicopter's primary objective was to demonstrate the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. It was delivered to Mars on February 18, 2021, attached to the underside of the Perseverance rover. The helicopter was deployed from the Perseverance rover on April 3, 2021, and made its first flight on April 19, 2021. Originally designed for just five test flights over 30 days, Ingenuity exceeded all expectations by completing 72 flights over nearly three years, repeatedly setting new records for height, speed, and distance. Unfortunately, during its final flight on January 18, 2024, one of its rotor blades was damaged during a hard landing, rendering the helicopter unable to fly again. NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter made history as the first craft to fly on another planet, and it demonstrated that powered flight is possible on Mars. It also served as an aerial scout for the Perseverance rover. In total, it covered about 11 miles (17.7 kilometers) during its flights and stayed aloft for nearly 129 minutes.

7. The Boeing Crew Flight Test:

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft made history during its first crewed flight on June 5, 2024, when NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams piloted it to the International Space Station (ISS). The Starliner, developed by Boeing for NASA's Commercial Crew Program, is designed to transport astronauts to and from the ISS. It is part of NASA's effort to develop reliable, cost-effective crew transportation, alongside SpaceX's Crew Dragon. The Starliner can carry up to seven astronauts and is designed to be reusable, capable of multiple flights. This mission, which marked the Starliner's debut crewed test flight, also made Sunita Williams the first woman to pilot a test flight of an American spacecraft. The Boeing Starliner spacecraft was launched atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. While the flight itself was successful, the mission encountered delays due to technical issues with the Starliner, including thruster malfunctions and helium leaks, which led to an extended stay at the ISS. The uncrewed Starliner spacecraft arrived safely back to Earth and landed at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on September 7, 2024.

8. World's First Private Moon Lander:

The Intuitive Machines 1 (IM-1, TO2-IM) was a robotic Moon landing mission conducted by Intuitive Machines (IM). The mission's objective was to place a NOVA-C lander, named Odysseus, near the Malapert A crater at the lunar south pole. The commercially built lander carried five NASA payloads and additional commercial cargo. IM-1 launched on February 15, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center. The company successfully landed Odysseus near the lunar south pole on February 22, 2024, becoming the first private lander to reach the Moon. It was also the first American lander on the lunar surface in over 50 years, since Apollo 17 in 1972. Despite some tense moments during the descent, including a malfunction in the landing lasers, engineers successfully uploaded a software patch to use a secondary laser provided by NASA, ensuring a successful landing. On February 29, 2024, the IM-1 mission ended, seven days after landing, as Odysseus' mission was not intended to survive the harsh temperatures of the lunar night. IM also became the first commercial-sector company and NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) provider to successfully land and transmit scientific data to and from the Moon. The lander transmitted over 350 megabytes of science and engineering data, which was collected across all payloads, and NASA also confirmed the mission's success.

9. Aditya-L1 Spacecraft:

Aditya-L1 is India's first solar observatory mission to study the Sun. Launched on September 2, 2023, this observatory was inserted into its designated halo orbit on January 6, 2024. The Aditya-L1 spacecraft orbits the L1 Lagrangian point, a crucial vantage point for solar observations. On July 2, 2024, ISRO's Aditya-L1 spacecraft marked a significant milestone by successfully completing its first halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 point. A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation or eclipses. The halo orbit, which takes approximately 178 days for each revolution around the L1 point, involves intricate dynamics and precise modeling. Moving forward, Aditya-L1 will contribute significantly to our understanding of the Sun's behavior and its impact on space weather.

10. Europa Clipper Mission:

Europa Clipper is the pioneering mission dedicated to an in-depth study of Jupiter's moon, Europa. Scientists believe that Europa harbors liquid water, organic compounds, and a potential energy source—the three essential ingredients for life. Beneath its icy surface, it is predicted that a vast salty ocean exists, containing more water than all of Earth's oceans combined. The Europa Clipper spacecraft, the largest planetary mission spacecraft ever developed by NASA, boasts solar arrays that span over 100 feet (~30 meters) when deployed and weighs nearly 13,000 pounds (6,000 kilograms) at launch. Launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on October 14, 2024, the spacecraft will embark on a journey spanning 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) to reach Jupiter by April 2030. Once it arrives, Europa Clipper will orbit Jupiter and execute 49 close flybys of Europa, gathering valuable data to help scientists unlock the moon’s secrets.