NASA has a busy year ahead in space-science missions, from low-cost cubesats to the multibillion-dollar James Webb Space Telescope.

“The pandemic didn’t change plans, it simply fast-tracked what was already happening,” says a space industry executive.

These luminaries are among the space movers and shakers to watch in 2021.

Winners include silhouettes of aircraft in early morning, firefighting aid missions and snorkeling while planespotting. The Photo Contest in a Surreal Year We knew this year would be a challenging one for the Aviation Week Photo Contest because so many events at which photographers shoot were canceled or postponed and travel was so restricted. In order to make the Photo Contest successful during the COVID-19 pandemic, we:      Accepted photos taken since 2000 so photographers could dig into their archives and offer great images that might not have been widely shared; Created a special category, The COVID-19 Challenge, for outstanding photojournalism that tells the story of the pandemic and its effect on the world’s airlines and aerospace industry.

The latest mission to return a sample from the lunar surface is part of China’s internally focused effort to put humans on the Moon.

T-7A simulator production begins; Greek F-35 interest confirmed; Russia’s reusable rocket engine, and Spain to convert airliner to tanker.

Space agency testing double-anonymous peer review to fund grant proposals.

The U.S. should be at the forefront of high-capacity power-beaming to lead the technology rather than be dependent on others for it.