Space science next year will be rocketed forward with missions to the Moon, asteroids, Mars and the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope coming online.
Why it matters: The data sent back to Earth from these upcoming missions will help scientists learn more than ever before about objects in the solar system and far beyond it.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope launched to space on Christmas Day, a major milestone for a telescope that promises to change scientists' understanding of the history of our universe.
Why it matters: The telescope, known as the Hubble Space Telescope's successor, is designed to capture the light of some of the first galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, parse out the atmospheres of planets in other solar systems, watch stars evolve in clouds of dust and other tasks.
