2024 will be a busy year for space launches and space missions. There are several exciting journeys to space in January that will launch us into 2024. Here are a few to look forward to.

Ovzon-3

The exciting space launch of Ovzon-3 has a tentative launch date of January 3  in Cape Canaveral, FL. Originally, the satellite was scheduled to launch in 2021. In 2018, the satellite addressed the need for high-speed broadband in underserved areas. Ovzon-3 has five steerable spot beams that can move capacity where and when needed. Also, the satellite has an onboard processor. This ensures connectivity if communication centers are unavailable.

Peregrine Lunar Lander 1

The space launch window for Peregrine Mission 1, or the Peregrine Lunar Lander, opens January 8, 2024. Scientific objectives of the space mission include studying the moon’s atmosphere and thermal properties. This exciting space mission will also study the amount of hydrogen on the rocky surface of the moon. The date of January 8 is the earliest Peregrine can launch into space. Peregrine Lunar Lander will orbit Earth for three to 33 days. After that, it will orbit the moon for four to 25 days. The space launch is taking place at Cape Canaveral, FL.

Axiom Space Mission 3 (Ax-3)

Axiom Space’s third human spaceflight mission is the first all-European commercial astronaut mission. The astronauts will launch to the International Space Station. Crew members are Michael López-Alegría from Spain, Walter Villadei from Italy, Alper Gezeravcı the first Turkish astronaut to go to space, and Marcus Wandt from Sweden. Biological Investigations are a strong focus for this mission. Specifically, it aims to investigate how microgravity affects stem cell development. Ax-3 will launch no earlier than January 17, on SpaceX’s Falcon 9. The space launch will take off from the Kennedy Space Station in Florida.