ESA preview 2022

As always, a new year brings new and exciting missions and launches for ESA. In science the world looks forward to the first image releases of the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope and the third data release for Gaia, both teaching us more about our galaxy and Universe. ESA’s new Mars rover will be launched with the ExoMars mission, and we will also see the maiden flights of Vega-C, Ariane 6 and the Artemis I flight. Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will return to the ISS for her second mission and a new class of astronauts will be presented to the world. After the groundwork has been laid in 2021, a new Ministerial Council Meeting will gather to look at the future of ESA, and the need for ESA and Europe to accelerate space and integrated space technology into the fabric of our lives.