Top 5 Space Technology Trends

Humans have been venturing for a long time to discover space and as a result of that many advancements have been made in space technology. We all have heard the name of Neil Armstrong, the first human to land on the moon long ago. He was followed by many other astronauts as technology increased their interest in outer space. Today, some of the famous billionaires including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are eager to invest and set their foot on Mars and other planets. Some of the most recent advancements include the development of reusable spacecraft, the use of satellites to provide global coverage, and the introduction of new space exploration techniques. However, practically such initiatives are too expensive to be implemented and a lot of prior research and planning is needed. 

1. Commercial Spaceflight and Reusable Rockets: Lately, a private spaceflight company known as Blue Origin has been putting in efforts in order to introduce its New Glen rocket into the Earth's orbit. The company is working on making improvements in these rockets and their target is to take humans and cargo as well. One unique feature of these rockets is that it can be used over and over again (up to 25 times). In 2017, there were a total of 18 commercial space flights, including both manned and unmanned spacecraft. This number is projected to grow to more than 50 by 2025.

2. Getting to the Moon: For a long period of time, scientists have stopped their research and exploration on the moon. But some strategic interests have induced them to continue with their experimentation through exploration vehicles or autonomous explorers. Many believe that it will prove as a good sample to test different technologies that will ultimately ease their reach to Mars. The plan of astronauts and experts is to send small payloads to the moon. These payloads are autonomous objects which will help to identify and extract the elements from the surface of the moon and later will be processed. The US has planned to collaborate with NASA and send such instruments to the moon and penetrate into a new phase of outer space development.

3. Satellites: Today, satellites are launched into space very often. In 2022, a total number of 155 satellites were launched out of which five suffered from technical failures. They are used for multiple purposes such as to gather data, predict weather, for internet communication or for the Global Positioning System. It has also helped to tackle the pandemics. As technology is picking pace, satellites are becoming lighter, smaller and more efficient and the cost for businesses to launch them is almost the same as launching an application. In China, around 1000 small satellites were launched into space in order to serve the customers of aviation and manufacturing. Similarly, Australia released 3D printed satellites to provide better connectivity and communication solutions for the devices that increasingly rely on the Internet of Things.

4. Space exploration and our mess: There are heaps of space debris accumulated in space as a result of space exploration, just like humans are creating a mess on the earth. In 2017, there were a total of 5,814 pieces of space debris larger than 1 cm and now it has reached 8000 tons. All this is a result of space missions which has led to a number of non-functional satellites zoning around the earth. This number is projected to grow to more than 25,000 by 2025. This can cause trouble in the future space missions and affect the services which depend on satellites such as GPS. Many steps are being taken in order to remove and eliminate the debris. RemoveDebris is a spacecraft that captures all the floating pieces using a net. Magnets are also being used to grab these chunks which are later destroyed. 

5. Climatic changes and space innovations: Governments of many countries are now investing in space technologies in order to deal with the climatic challenges they face on earth. One such example is MethaneSat that helps to track the methane emission. Methane is a hazardous gas that damages the ozone layer and leads to global warming so tackling such issues is becoming increasingly important for countries.