In 2021 it could be remembered the most as the year of vaccination and the Coronavirus variant. But it’s also a year that stretches the limits of exploration in space. NASA presented the perfect wrap for 2021 with the launch of Telescope Space James Webb, which would help answer questions about the star and the first galaxy formed.
This year also saw boom in private space tourism with December watching a record of 19 people in space.
In July, the founder of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson slid into the sky above his own rocket and experienced three to four minutes without weight before sliding back safely.
This month, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa became the first room tourist to travel to international spacecraft more than a decade. He spent 12 days in space as an exercise for his trip around the moon with SpaceX in 2023.