WATCH | Moon landings, giant leap on Mars, and more... NASA reveals its 2024 plans

As the world eagerly anticipates the dawn of 2024, NASA is setting the stage for a year filled with groundbreaking missions, lunar explorations, and a giant leap toward Mars. The space agency's motto for the year, "Onward and Upward," is capturing the essence of its ambitious agenda.

In a captivating video released on its website, NASA outlined a spectacular lineup of missions that promise to push the boundaries of space exploration.

“Landing science on the Moon, demonstrating quiet supersonic aircraft, and launching two new Earth climate satellites, plus a mission to Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons, are just a few of the milestones we have planned for 2024,” NASA declared in a statement.

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The Artemis lunar rover, named VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover), is set to touch down on the Moon's South Pole in late 2024. This mobile robot will embark on a 100-day mission into the Moon's extreme environment in search of ice and potential resources and provide crucial details for future human space exploration.

The Artemis mission, a key component of NASA's 2024 agenda, will mark historic milestones by landing the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon.

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These missions will make use of innovative technologies to explore more lunar surfaces than ever before, with an overarching goal of establishing the first long-term human presence on the Moon. The knowledge gained from these endeavours will serve as a springboard for the next monumental achievement: sending astronauts to Mars.

To achieve these ambitious goals, NASA will have the expertise of Axiom Space, which will provide spacesuits for moonwalkers during the Artemis III mission.

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This collaboration will underscore the importance of cutting-edge technology in ensuring the success of lunar explorations.

Moreover, NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is set to take centre stage in 2024. Two astronaut test pilots will participate in this mission, living and working off the Earth for about a week. This mission will be a critical step in NASA's continuous efforts to expand human presence beyond our planet.

(With inputs from agencies)