3. China's Manned Space Laboratory
China, a growing player in space, is working on its own manned space station. This year the nation launched its first space station test module and conducted its first in-orbit rendezvous and docking. Though these spacecraft were unmanned, Chinese astronauts are expected to fly on a subsequent docking test flight in 2012.
The Tiangong-1 module, launched Sept. 29, is still in orbit. The robotic Shenzhou 8 mission launched Oct. 31 and met up with Tiangong-1 multiple times before returning to Earth in November.
The next docking missions, which will further develop this critical skill for building a space station, will be Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10. At least one of them will be crewed, Chinese officials have said.
5. LightSail-1 Launches
LightSail-1 is an unmanned solar sail spacecraft being developed by the nonprofit Planetary Society, an organization that advocates space exploration.
Solar sail technology offers the potential to use the sun's radiation to push a spacecraft farther and faster than traditional propulsion does. The LightSail-1 vehicle is the first of three planned tests of the technology by the Planetary Society. It is due to launch sometime in 2012.
LightSail-1 is made of three small cube-shaped spacecraft attached to four triangular Mylar sails arranged like a kite. The vehicle will rely on pure sunlight for propulsion.
7. Curiosity Rover Arrives on Red Planet
NASA's huge new rover Curiosity, the centerpiece of the space agency's Mars Science Laboratory mission, is expected to land on the Red Planet Aug. 6.
The $2.5 billionCuriosity lifted off Nov. 26, 2011. It's the largest and most ambitiously designed Mars rover to date, packed with 10 different science instruments to search for signs that Mars is, or ever was, habitable to life.
The landing is expected to be a nail-biter, as Curiosity is due to descend to the planet's surface as no vehicle has done before. NASA engineers devised a sky crane descent module that will parachute down to hover over Mars, then lower Curiosity on tethers to a gentle touchdown.
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