2025 in SPACEFLIGHT: The incredible missions set to take off next year, revealed - from China's daring asteroid retrieval to the first private trip to Venus
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From NASA's mission to study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to Elon Musk's SpaceX catching its Starship rocket mid-air, there's no doubt 2024 saw some incredible space feats. 'In 2024, NASA made leap after giant leap to explore, discover, and inspire – all while bringing real, tangible, and substantial benefits to the American people and to all of humanity,' said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
![[Image from China National Space Administration shows the Tianwen-1 probe en route to Mars. The follow-up, Tianwen-2, has a distant asteroid in its sights]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/17/39079690-14166605-Image_from_China_National_Space_Administration_shows_the_Tianwen-a-4_1734368614267.jpg)
And 2025 is set to be an even more remarkable year for space agencies and companies around the world, who have an assortment of exciting missions lined up. Among them are NASA, which is sending two twin spacecraft to Mars – although its upcoming return to the moon has been delayed yet again.
![[Launch vehicle company Rocket Lab is partnering with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to send the first private mission to Venus as soon as January 2025. Pictured, artist's impression of the Venus Life Finder craft in space]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/17/93202035-14166605-image-a-6_1734369127642.jpg)
There's also the European Space Agency, which is set to launch its futuristic 'Space Rider' spaceplane – described as a 'robotic laboratory the size of two minivans'. Meanwhile, private companies are readying a probe to Venus and a luxury commercial space station for the first time.
![[Venus is known as Earth's 'evil twin' because its also rocky and about the same size, but its average surface temperature is a blistering 870°F (465°C). Pictured, the surface of Venus, as interpreted by the Magellan spacecraft]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/17/33162224-14166605-Venus_is_known_as_Earth_s_evil_twin_because_its_also_rocky_and_a-a-7_1734369721691.jpg)
Meanwhile, Elon Musk's SpaceX could go one step further in 2025 with its 395-foot Starship vessel as it prepares for a trip beyond Earth orbit. Here, MailOnline takes a look at the incredible space missions set to take off in 2025 that you won't want to miss.
![[It will make its maiden trip to the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth-orbit, after more than a decade in development]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/18/15/84789127-14166605-It_will_make_its_maiden_trip_to_the_International_Space_Station_-a-7_1734534576450.jpg)
MailOnline takes a look at the incredible space missions set to take off in 2025, from the first private mission to Venus to China's ambitious asteroid mission. Surely one of the most ambitious trips of the year will be China's Tianwen-2, which is set for launch in May 2025.
![[Pictured, artist's impression of the Dream Chaser spacecraft during its descent back towards Earth]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/18/15/84792747-14166605-Pictured_artist_s_impression_of_the_Dream_Chaser_spacecraft_duri-a-6_1734534571906.jpg)
