Year-ender: A look at best space news of 2023 — Moon, asteroids, space tourism, more

In 2023, the main topics in space news around the world were the moon, asteroids, and new rockets.

On the second test flight, Elon Musk's enormous rocket reached space before bursting again. India outperformed Russia, which crashed, in its moon landing. Additionally, NASA returned with the first asteroid samples.

Following are a handful of the cosmic highs and lows for 2023. And in 2024, there will be even more.

Moon mania

With plans to land there in 2023, Russia, India, and a private Japanese business were the talk of the town. Only India triumphed, making history as the fourth nation to accomplish so. China and the Japanese Space Agency, along with two American corporations, are aiming for landings as early as January.

Rocket debuts

SpaceX's Starship, the largest and most potent rocket ever constructed, exploded and left debris in the Gulf of Mexico after two unsuccessful launches from South Texas in 2023. Twice as long, the second test flight reached a height of 93 miles (150 km). Before putting on satellites and crew, SpaceX intends the empty spacecraft to complete a circumnavigation of the planet.

Asteroid autumn

It was dubbed "asteroid autumn" by NASA. A quantity of debris gathered from the asteroid Bennu was delivered by the Osiris-Rex probe in September. A few weeks later, the Psyche spacecraft launched on a six-year journey to the eponymous metal-rich asteroid.

Space tourism

In 2023, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic began offering brief space flights to passengers. In less than five months, the company launched five customers from New Mexico. Before the business folds in mid-2024 to build a rocketship that can carry more people on more frequent flights, just a small number more are anticipated.