In 2024, space exploration reached remarkable milestones, highlighted by the first flight of the Ariane 6 and China's successful landing of the Chang'e 6 on the Moon's far side.

The year saw over 240 successful rocket launches globally, marking the fourth consecutive record year, with SpaceX's Falcon 9 accounting for more than half of these at 128 launches.

NASA launched the Europa Clipper mission, which aims to investigate Jupiter's moon Europa for signs of alien life, with an expected arrival by 2030.

Boeing's Starliner mission to the International Space Station faced significant delays, extending its planned eight-day stay to potentially ten months.

Rocket Factory Augsburg faced setbacks after an explosion during a test of its RFA One rocket in August 2024, delaying its planned launch.

Astronomers captured the first image of the polarized light and magnetic fields surrounding Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

In October, a rare aurora borealis was visible as far south as Florida, triggered by a severe G5 geomagnetic storm.

A total solar eclipse on April 8 captivated millions across North America, with 15 U.S. states experiencing totality for over four minutes.

The Polaris Dawn mission made history with the first-ever commercial spacewalk, led by astronaut Jared Isaacman.

Russian astronaut Oleg Kononenko set a remarkable record by spending a total of 1,000 days in space aboard the International Space Station.

NASA announced further delays to its Artemis program, with the Artemis-2 mission now scheduled for no earlier than 2026.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe achieved a historic flyby of the sun on Christmas Eve, coming within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface.