Space Highlights From 2017

It’s that time of year again when we reflect on everything that’s happened in space in 2017 and look forward to what’s coming up in 2018.

And what a year it’s been! The discovery of the seven Earth-sized TRAPPIST-1 planets, a perfect streak of 17 SpaceX launches, and of course the bittersweet end to the Cassini-Huygens spectacular mission at Saturn, to name just a few.

Here are our favourite space highlights from 2017:

Discovery of TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets

Back in February 2017, the space news was all about exoplanets and the discovery of seven earth-sized rocky planets orbiting a distant star. This treasure trove of alien worlds includes three planets within the so-called ‘habitable zone’ around their star. This means the temperature is not too hot or too cold, and liquid water could exist on the surface of these planets.

At the moment, it is far too early to speculate on whether life exists on the TRAPPIST-1 planets, but at just 40 light-years away from the Earth, the system is close enough that we may soon be able to measure details of the planets’ atmospheres and thus get a much better sense of their habitability.

The last few years have seen the number of confirmed exoplanets shoot up to more than 3,000, largely thanks to the efforts of the Kepler space telescope.

At the time, the TRAPPIST-1 discovery set the record for the largest number of planets around another star, but that record has since been broken by the December 2017 announcement of eight exoplanets around the Kepler-90 star.

SpaceX launches and landings

2017 has been a great year for SpaceX. Elon Musk’s private space company has launched a perfect streak of 18 Falcon 9 rockets, many of which also landed in a sequence straight out of science fiction. This streak has been particularly impressive given that this time last year, SpaceX’s reputation for reliability was seriously strained. It was still reeling from the dramatic launch-pad explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket in September 2016 and desperate to get back on schedule.

But from 14 January 2017 to 23 December 2017, SpaceX has launched satellite after satellite perfectly, using a recycled first-stage booster for many of these flights. SpaceX’s final flight of the year was a big mark of trust from NASA, as it gave the company the go-ahead to launch cargo to the International Space Station on a recycled rocket for the first time.

Elon Musk is now focused on the big goals he’s set his company for 2018. He’s planning to launch the new Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time in January. If successful, it’s just possible he’ll make the deadline that he famously set last year – a trip around the Moon for two lucky space tourists by the end of 2018. Watch this space!

End of the Cassini Mission

On 15 September 2017, the Cassini spacecraft made a final dive towards Saturn, sending back some final images before disintegrating in the cloud tops. It was a hugely bittersweet moment to follow live and by far the most memorable space moment of 2017.

Cassini arrived at Saturn back in 2005 after a seven year journey from Earth. It spent the next twelve years in orbit around Saturn, blowing us away with jaw-dropping photographs and stunning discoveries about Saturn, its rings, and especially its moons.

Without Cassini, we wouldn’t have known that Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus contains an underground ocean of liquid water that regularly blasts out plumes of salty water into space. And where there’s water, there’s usually life…

Without Cassini’s Huygens probe, we also wouldn’t have explored the cloudy, rocky surface of Saturn’s moon Titan or discovered the icy composition of Saturn’s iconic rings.

But nothing lasts forever, and Cassini’s mission had to come to an end because it eventually ran out of fuel. The NASA team decided to end the mission with a bang and collect some final, close-up views of Saturn by sending it on an intricate collision course with the gas giant.

But more importantly, this collision also protected Saturn’s moons from any possible contamination from an out-of-control Cassini spacecraft. Some of Saturn’s moons, particularly Enceladus, may be inhabitable, and the last thing we’d want to do is contaminate these virgin worlds with materials or microbes from Earth.

Notable Mentions

It was a difficult task choosing the space highlights of 2017. Other notable mentions include:

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson breaking the record for the longest time in space by any American astronaut. After six months on the ISS in 2017, Peggy is not only NASA’s most experienced astronaut, she also holds the record for the most number of space walks by any woman and the oldest woman to travel to space.

In August 2017, Americans witnessed a stunning total solar eclipse that lasted for several minutes and traced a path from Oregon to South Carolina. While this eclipse wasn’t visible from the UK, we were treated to some truly stunning images of this cosmic alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth.