It has been a great year in space exploration, from the big step in returning to moon missions, to a glimpse at the origins of the universe and hope that humans could survive an asteroid hitting Earth.
These are the events that changed the course of space advancement.
When Artemis 1 blasted off from Florida in November, it was the first manned mission to the moon in 50 years. On top of the SLS, the most powerful rocket in history, the next- generation capsule flew for 25 days to test the hardware and support systems for sending humans back to the moon.
50 years ago on 11 December, two Apollo 17 astronauts became the last of only 12 to walk on the moon, when their craft splashed down in the ocean. The program is on track for a crewed lunar flyby in 2024 and a planned moon landing the year after, despite still assessing data from the Artemis mission.
Astronomers were promised a glimpse into the dawn of creation when the highest resolution images ever seen of distant galaxies were sent back by the james wbb space telescope.
The clear color pictures of the unseen universe were hailed by Bill Nelson as a new era in astronomy. He said that they were going back to the beginning.
One of the new galaxies may have formed 350m after the big bang.
The dart mission shifted the asteroid's position.
In a landmark moment for planetary defense, in September, Nasa crashed a multimillion-dollar, car-sized spacecraft into an asteroid the size of a football stadium and proved for the first time that it could alter the asteroid's position.
The double asteroid redirection test was an experiment of the space agency's ability to defend Earth from a huge asteroid on a collision course.
Dimorphos was shortened by about 32 minutes after the impact.
The first all-private crew of astronauts returned from the International Space Station in April and were joined by three wealthy guests.
The three civilian astronauts paid an estimated $55 million for a 17-day mission in which they joined US and Russian crews on the International Space Station and conducted more than 25 research projects.
The command of Axiom 2 is expected to be taken by a former NASA chief.
The potential for humans to live on the red planet came a step closer in August when researchers announced that a lunchbox-sized instrument had been generating oxygen.
Moxie, part of the Perseverance project on Mars, was successful in producing oxygen over seven runs in a variety of atmospheric conditions. The rate of oxygen produced by each run is similar to that of a tree.
It is possible that scaled-up versions of Moxie will be part of the Artemis program.
A chunk of a rocket used to deliver a module to its new space station fell to Earth without warning in November, sparking global outrage and causing hundreds of flight delays.
It was the second year in a row that parts of China's Long March rockets had threatened populated areas, prompting calls for the country to clean up its act. Chinese space debris has fallen on other countries.
The construction of Tiangong for a crew of three is under consideration by China.
Russia says it will leave the International Space Station in four years.
In July, the Russian space agency said it was ending its relationship with the US over the International Space Station and would focus on building its own outpost.
The move was linked to the conflict between the US and Russia. Three months ago, a crew of Russian cosmonauts boarded the International Space Station wearing the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Russia was out after fulfilling its obligations to the International Space Station, according to a report.
In May, Boeing became the second company to dock its space vehicles at the International Space Station, a milestone in its plans to ferry humans aboard its Starliner crew capsule.
There will be two crewed missions to the International Space Station by the year 2022.
Boeing has been a partner of Nasa for a long time. The first crewed Starliners test flight has been delayed.
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