A Busy Year Saw a Mars Rover Landing, Martian Helicopter Flights, Moon Mission Preparation

NASA called the last year its "busiest year of development yet in low-earth orbit", capping off 2021 with a review of its accomplishments.

The year fared better than expected following a flat 2020, seeing groundbreaking history made on mars, a rash of commercial space development in low-Earth orbit, and some minor progress on a return to the moon. 

The James Webb Space telescope launched on December 25 from its point in French Guyana following the finishing touches on its systems, providing a far greater image resolution and sensitivity over the legendary Hubble telescope. The launch is the last of the year, being sent aboard the Ariane 5 rocket. 

The Perseverance rover landed on the surface of Mars, and brought with it the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter which has gone on to a wildly successful flight career beyond expectations. The small, 4 pound helicopter was intended to provide a brief proof-of-concept, a demonstrator for the potential of powered flight on other worlds. Intended to make a few short hover tests prior to expiration, the Ingenuity has soldiered on, weathering brutally frigid seasonal changes, punishing storms, and harsh Martian sun without complaint, eventually logging more than 30 cumulative minutes of flight as it voyaged from one place to another, sending back novel aerial photography. 

NASA also saw the safe, successful return of two sets of commercial crew astronauts from Crew-2 and Crew-3 missions to the International Space Station. The flights proved the utility of corporate affiliate Space X's Crew Dragon spacecraft, outsourcing the troublesome and resource-intensive shuttle program to private industry. The integration of commercial contractors is set to continue, with the low-orbit Orbital Reef station planned for the coming years. 

“At NASA, we turn science fiction into science fact, and we do it daily. From continuing to launch astronauts to the International Space Station from American soil to landing the Perseverance rover on Mars and logging the first flight on another planet, 2021 was a banner year for the world's premier space agency and all of humanity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who was sworn into office May 3. “Next year, NASA will accomplish more daring feats with new discoveries and technological advancements, especially as our Artemis I mission paves the way for future crewed missions to the Moon – and beyond.”

FMI: www.nasa.gov