Let’s take a look back at July 2023 and what happened beyond low earth orbit.
Launch of ESA’s Euclid telescope
On July 1, a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX launched ESA’s Euclid telescope to the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2. Meanwhile, it has arrived at its destination.
Euclid is designed to explore the evolution of the dark Universe. It will make a 3D-map of the Universe (with time as the third dimension) by observing billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years, across more than a third of the sky.
Read more about the mission on ESA’s website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid
ARTEMIS P1 reaches 12 years in orbit around the Moon
On July 2, NASA’s ARTEMIS P1 spacecraft reached 12 years in orbit around the Moon. It originally launched with a constellation of 5 satellites in 2007 to study Earth’s magnetosphere. It was later moved into an orbit around the Moon, where it studies the interaction of the Moon and the Sun. For more detail about the spacecraft and the mission, also read this blog post.
Juno reaches 7 years at Jupiter
On July 4, NASA’s Juno spacecraft completed 7 years in orbit around Jupiter. It has already completed it primary mission and is currently in an extended mission.
I wrote more about the mission in a previous post.
NASA website about the mission: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html
Last launch of the Ariane 5 rocket
On July 5, Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket flew its final mission. So, it’s time to say goodbye to a rocket, that launched many spacecraft beyond low earth orbit. One of the last spacecrafts to launch on an Ariane 5 was the James Webb Space Telescope.
Launch of Chandrayaan-3
On July 14, an LVM-3 of ISRO launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon. The mission consists of a propulsion module, a lander, and a rover. It is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 and will try to achieve a successful landing on the lunar surface.
The landing is currently planned for August 24, 2023.
Mission website from ISRO: https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan3.html
ARTEMIS P2 reaches 12 years in orbit around the Moon
On July 17, the ARTEMIS P2 spacecraft – a sibling of the ARTEMIS P1 spacecraft – also reached 12 years in orbit around the Moon.
UAE Hope reaches 3 years in orbit around Mars
On July 19, the UAE Hope spacecraft reached 3 full years in orbit around Mars, where it is still studying the atmosphere of Mars. Read more about the mission in this previous post.
Mission website: https://www.emiratesmarsmission.ae/
54 anniversary of the first lunar landing
On July 20, it’s now 54 years since the first lunar landing. On that day in 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin first landed on the surface of the Moon.
Ingenuity flies again
On July 22, Ingenuity achieved its 53rd flight on Mars. This is especially noteworthy, as it fell silent after the last flight on April 26. But the little helicopter is still alive. Read more about Ingenuity in this or this previous post.
Ingenuity’s website and flight log: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/
Summary for July 2023
July 2023 saw interesting new missions and spacecrafts still going strong. But we also had to say goodbye to a rocket, that flew for decades. What is your favorite mission? What are you waiting for? Please let me know in the comments.