A new year begins and it is always useful to have at hand a calendar of the most important events and moments happening in the next twelve months. Last 2023 was exceptional in many aspects and this 2024 promises to continue (and even surpass) some of the trends we have experienced in the last year.
The hottest year in millennia
Global warming is becoming evident and what’s worse, it is accelerating. Last 2023 was the hottest year since records existed And everything indicates that it will continue to climb until it is surpassed in 2024. The El Nino phenomenon will continue to increase the temperatures of the seas and oceans this year and NASA has already warned that it is very possible that in 2024 we will exceed many of the records set by 2023.
Once again an oil power faces doubts over climate summit
The long list of UN climate change conferences will reach its twenty-ninth edition, which will be held this year Azerbaijan, one of the world’s largest oil producers. The experience of past COPs has been disastrous, especially the COP in Dubai in 2023, where an international event designed to save the world turned into a disaster. Key climate indicators are deteriorating rapidly, greenhouse gas levels continue to rise and, after almost 30 years, it seems clear that the current arrangement of international climate summits will not be a suitable tool for any solution.
Space will break records again thanks to SpaceX and China
In 2023, it will break all space launch records in history. A total of 222 orbital launches, “of which ninety-eight correspond to the SpaceX company and sixty-seven to China”, are the two most decisive agents in the new space impulse in our time. In fact, Bill Gerstenmaier himself is the vice president of space flights.
If we also add consolidated agencies like NASA, ESA, ROSCOSMOS or JAXA and new space powers like India or Spain, which made their first orbital launch in 2023, the result will be 2024 which will aim to break that record again. ,
Heading to the moon… or almost
Space is again in the news and our satellite has again taken center stage. Humans will soon return to the lunar surface thanks to the Artemis space program. If all goes according to plan, the second stage (Artemis 2) will be launched in November 2024, which will also be. First manned mission of the program, Orion spacecraft will carry four astronauts to lunar orbit and return to Earth from there The most important steps in space exploration in the last fifty years,
For its part, China plans to launch the long-awaited mission in August Chang’e-6 which will head towards the far side of the MoonWill land and collect samples of lunar soil.
Artificial Intelligence is consolidated and moves towards the new generation
The advancements in Artificial Intelligence technologies that we experienced in 2023 will once again take center stage in 2024. Chat GPT and its derivatives are preparing their new generation GPT5 which will also meet new competitors, especially with the arrival of Geminis, developed by Artificial Intelligence Google is in a new year which many consider “the beginning of the Generative AI boom” Are.
Release of an army of modified mosquitoes
The prestigious Nature magazine published a few weeks ago an entire article with scientific events planned for 2024, from which one thing has emerged that could have a very significant impact on public health. It involves releasing millions of massively modified mosquitoes developed in Brazilian laboratories, with the aim of preventing the transmission of pathogenic viruses such as dengue or Zika. Over the past decade, trials of these types of modified mosquitoes have been achieving success in studies in various countries and it is expected that 2024 will be “the definitive push for a biological shield that protects about 100 million people.”
Telescope, solar eclipse and more
2024 will also see the arrival of two of the most anticipated ground-based telescopes: the Vera Rubin Observatory, which is being completed in Cerro Pachón (Chile) and will have the largest digital camera ever built for optical astronomy. Also in Chile, in the Atacama Desert, the Simons Observatory plans to begin its work in the summer of 2024 with the aim of searching for gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background.
Will be another most awaited moment of this year total solar eclipse Which will take place on April 8 and can be enjoyed from Mexico, the United States and Canada. A few months later, in October, there will be another solar eclipse (this time partial) that can be seen over much of South America and which we will have the opportunity to discuss in more depth later.
Let’s hope that 2024 will bring great scientific advances and global problems will be closer to being solved. After all, this year is a leap year and we will have one more day to work on it. happy New Year to everyone!
Also on video: Five great space missions for 2024
(Tags to translate)Greenhouse gases(T)NASA(T)Artificial intelligence(T)El Nino phenomenon(T)Largest oil producers