NASA's great return to the moon to Blue Origin's all-female trip into orbit

Among them are NASA, which is finally returning to the moon after 40 years, and Blue Origin which is sending an all-female crew into orbit.

There’s also the chance of the first ever all-British mission to space and the first phase of SpaceX‘s ambitious Polaris Dawn programme.

Here’s a look at the big space launches of 2024 that you won’t want to miss.

It’s been more than four decades, but NASA is finally returning to the moon.

Possibly the biggest space launch in 2024 is Artemis II, scheduled for November, which will mark NASA‘s first trip to the moon since the Apollo programme of the 1970s.

But rather than landing on the lunar surface, Artemis II will fly around it.

Four astronauts aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft will do a loop around it before returning to Earth.

In doing so, Artemis II should smash the record for the furthest distance travelled from Earth by humans (set by Artemis I in 2022).

Artemis II will also set the stage for Artemis III, which will take place in December 2025, providing there aren’t any further delays.

Artemis III will put humans on the moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Both follow the success of Artemis I in 2022, which looped the Orion capsule around the moon but without any humans inside.

Instead, on-board were three manikins and several trinkets chosen by NASA including a Dead Sea pebble, 567 American flags and a Shaun the Sheep mascot.

NASA sees Artemis as laying the foundation for both international space agencies and private companies to build a lunar settlement and economy, and from there eventually send humans to Mars.

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