2022 preview: A round-up of the year's most exciting space missions

IF ALL goes well, the first major space mission of 2022 will be the launch of the Space Launch System rocket in February. After many budget and schedule overruns, NASA's colossal rocket is finally set for its first uncrewed flight, which will carry several small satellites into orbits either near or around the moon. They won't be the only lunar visitors. NASA has contracted private firms to send nine rovers to the moon, along with landers and other experiments. "Many of these are tests of this new idea that NASA is pushing, on whether commercial companies can deliver payloads to the moon, accepting higher risk for lower cost," says Jim Bell at Arizona State University.