NASA's top achievements in 2023: Bennu, Psyche to Dinkinesh, check them all out

NASA's top achievements in 2023: The year was slanted in favour of asteroids - Bennu, Psyche and Dinkinesh.

From receiving the Bennu asteroid sample to launching the Psyche asteroid spacecraft, the US space agency NASA achieved many milestones in 2023. (AP)

NASA's top achievements in 2023: The year has been a ground-breaking one for the US space agency NASA. From receiving asteroid sample to launching Psyche spacecraft, the US space agency achieved various milestones. As the year ends, we have compiled a list of 10 achievements of NASA and the notable part is that it was slanted a lot in favour of asteroids - Bennu, Psyche and Dinkinesh.

NASA's top achievements in 2023

1. This year NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio achieved a historic milestone as the first American to spend over a year in space, showcasing NASA's commitment to prolonged human space exploration.

2. OSIRIS-REx successfully deposited Bennu asteroid sample in the Utah desert, offering insights into the ancient building blocks of life on Earth

3. The Psyche asteroid spacecraft launched from NASA Kennedy Space Centre.

4. NASA's Lucy spacecraft conducted its first target asteroid flyby of asteroid Dinkinesh at the inner edge of the main asteroid belt, and the first images are now online.

5. On October 14, there was an annular eclipse visible in parts of the United States, Mexico, and more. NASA actively participated in the event. They launched three Black Brant IX sounding rockets to investigate the ionosphere, an electrically charged atmospheric layer.

6. NASA collaborated with DARPA on the DRACO project, aiming to test a nuclear-powered rocket by 2027, demonstrating a commitment to cutting-edge space propulsion.

7. The James Webb Space Telescope, a marvel of space observation, marked a year of transformative science, unveiling distant galaxies and solving mysteries of the early universe. Its contributions were too many to list.

8. Before the year's end, the space station crew accomplished 12 spacewalks for upgrades and maintenance on the orbiting laboratory. NASA astronauts persisted in installing the International Space Station Rollout Solar Arrays (IROSA), aiming to boost power generation.

9. NASA marked the 25th anniversary of International Space Station operations this year, concurrently advancing the growth of the commercial space economy and fostering partnerships for the development of commercial space stations.

10. This year NASA also made strides in the Artemis program, diligently working towards achieving the historic milestone of landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon. Notably in 2023, NASA unveiled the crew for the Artemis II mission, the first Artemis expedition with astronauts orbiting the Moon and returning to Earth.