CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Astronauts blasted into orbit from the U.S. for the first time in nearly a decade, three countries sent spacecraft hurtling toward Mars, and robotic explorers grabbed rocks from the moon and gravel from an asteroid for return to Earth.
Space provided moments of hope and glory in an otherwise difficult, stressful year. It promises to do the same in 2021, with February’s landings at Mars and next fall’s planned launch of the Hubble Space Telescope’s successor — the next-generation James Webb Space Telescope.