Below are outstanding space and astronomy events that will take place at the end of 2022.
November 29
A 2F rocket will launch the Thanh Chau 15 spacecraft, carrying three Chinese astronauts to the country's Tianjin space station. The launch will mark China's 10th manned space mission.
November 30
The first commercial moon landing ship of Japan-based company iSpace will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA.
The iSpace 1 mission, carried out by two small moon exploration ships from the United Arab Emirates and Japan, will land in the moon's Lacus Somniorum region if the launch goes smoothly.
December 7
The full moon of December, also known as the Cold Moon, appears.
December 12
December 12 is the day of the Ocean Geography and Surface Water (SWOT) mission, jointly developed by NASA and French space agency CNES. The mission's rover will be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Station in California, USA.
December 13-14
Geminids ice storm, one of the most beautiful ice rains this year.
Unlike most other ice rains that originate from the rocky tail of a compass, Geminids have a special origin in the ancient satellite 3200 Phaethon, an age-old object in the solar system.
3200 Phaethons rotate around the Sun about 1.4 times a year, leaving behind a long, dusty rock tail after approaching the Sun. Every year in December, the Earth moves into that dusty rock, the debris collides with the atmosphere and creates ice rain.
December 14
Arianespace will launch Galaxy 35 and 36 communication satellites to Intelsat on a Ariane 5 ECA missile from Kourou, Guiana, France.
December 15
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the first two O3b mPOWER broadband Internet satellites into Earth orbit for the Luxembourg's SES agency. The release has been delayed several times in May, June, August and November.
December 22
Winter solstice marks the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
December 21-22.
Ursid meteor shower takes place. The Ursid name comes from the Ursa Minor constellation, or Tieu Hung Tinh. The position of this constellation in the sky is also the place where Ursid meteor shower. However, this meteor shower originated from the residual dust left by 8P/Tuttle comet, discovered in 1790.
This is a small cyclone, with a frequency of only about 5-10 stars, and can reach up to 25 stars/hour at peak times. Due to the aftermath of the Geminids and just before Christmas, Ursids are often left unnoticed.
