2021: The Year Of The Space Tourist

The year in space wrapped up with the Christmas day launch of the most expensive and powerful space telescope ever.

This was the year of the space tourist — both human and robot — starting on Mars in February when the Perseverance rover mission finished its 293 million-mile trek. 

The craft brought along a hitchhiker, a solar-powered drone that quickly earned a place in the record books.

In July, there was an emergency aboard the International Space Station when a new Russian laboratory module unexpectedly fired its thrusters, sending the station backflipping out of control.