NASA’s Big 2022: Historic Moon Mission, Webb Telescope Images, More
2022 is one for the history books as NASA caps off another astronomical year.
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2022 is one for the history books as NASA caps off another astronomical year.
NASA launched its mega Moon rocket for the first time, sending its uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon; kicked off a new era in astronomy with the Webb Space Telescope’s record-breaking new imagery from the cosmos; moved an asteroid in humanity’s first ever planetary defense demonstration; working with its partners, sent astronauts on regular missions to the International Space Station, tested new technologies, including an inflatable heat shield for Mars; continued development of quieter supersonic aircraft, and much more.
“There is no doubt that 2022 was out of this world! From the history-making splashdown of the Artemis I mission, to the groundbreaking images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to the innovative LOFTID technology demonstration, the smashing success of the DART mission, incredible progress in our aeronautics programs, and the growth of partnerships with commercial and international partners,
2022 will go down in the history books as one of the most accomplished years across all of NASA’s missions,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “There’s so much to look forward to in 2023 too: More stunning discoveries from Webb telescope, climate missions that will tell us more about how our Earth is changing, continued science on the International Space Station, groundbreaking aeronautics developments with the X-59 and X-57 experimental aircraft, the selection of the first astronauts to go to the Moon in more than 50 years, and more. Space is the place and NASA proves humanity’s reach is limitless!”
In support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s priorities, the agency remained a global leader in providing data related to climate change including unveiling a concept for a new Earth Information Center, and published NASA’s first Equity Action Plan. Congress also passed, for the first time in five years, a NASA Authorization Act. And in 2022, NASA reached a decade of excellence by being named as the Best Place to Work in the federal government among large agencies by the Partnership for Public Service for an unprecedented 10th consecutive time.
Below is a summary of accomplishments, demonstrating how in 2022, NASA explored the unknown in air and space, innovated for the benefit of humanity, and inspired the world through discovery.
Preparing for human lunar exploration
Among the accomplishments for NASA’s human spaceflight programs, the agency successfully launched, for the first time, its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which put NASA’s Orion spacecraft on a path that traveled farther than any spacecraft built for astronauts has been before. Through Artemis, the agency advanced plans to send the first woman and first of color to the Moon. Leading up to the historic
