Space News: Top 5 Exciting Spaceflights In 2016

The space industry is quite in the news headlines this year. Thus, a website releases the Top 10 Spaceflight stories of 2016.

Space.com currently reported the Top 10 stories for the year 2016 space flight. Below is the Top 5.

1. Rocket landings galore

The 2016 spaceflight action includes rockets going down instead of flying up.

Thus, Elon Musk's company SpaceX successfully lands the first stage of five distinct Falcon 9 rockets during its operational launch this year. One of the rocket boosters managed to touch down back on the launch pad. As for the other four, they landed on the robotic "drone ships" located at the Atlantic Ocean.

Along with this, the Blue Origin by Jeff Bezos also launched and landed the same suborbital rocket, New Shepard rocket, four times this year. However, the booster finally retires after a successful test flight in October.

The two companies successfully landed their rockets. Dating back to 2015, SpaceX has a total of six and Blue Origin has a total of five.

2. Juno arrives at Jupiter

In August 2011, NASA launched a $1.2 billion Juno probe. Its mission is to investigate the atmosphere, composition and gravitational and magnetic field of Jupiter.

This year, the spacecraft successfully arrives at the planet. It then slips into Jupiter's orbit after facing a "make or break." However, on July 4 it experienced a 35-minute engine burn.

3. NASA asteroid-sampling mission lifts off

Another NASA spacecraft started its long, deep-space journey after Juno arrives its destination. On Sep. 8, NASA's $800 million probe called Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

If successful, the probe will study the space rock orbit for two years. It will then hitch 60 grams or 2 ounces of asteroid material in July 2020.

4. European Mars mission arrives at the Red Planet

Last March, the European-led ExoMars launched. It sends off a lander and an orbiter toward the Red Planet. In October, the both of the probes arrived, but only one survived to tell the journey.

5. Chinese astronauts dock with another space lab

The goal of China is to develop its own space station and run in Earth's orbit by 2020. The nation has already made a lot of progress with its goals.

In September 2011, Tiangong-1 was launched. It hosted three docking missions, two of which were crewed. However, it ended its operation in March. But, the country launched its second space lab that follows the footsteps of the first one. The Tiangong-2 was launched last Sep. 15.