距离仍是硬约束：最近已知系外行星距离超过 4 光年，而 1977 年发射的 Voyager 1 今年距离地球仅一光日。2021 年发射、位于地球 1.5mn 公里的 James Webb Space Telescope 透过光谱法分析系外行星的大气化学讯号，研究结果已涵盖从水世界到硫磺高温世界。最有前景的目标之一是约 40 光年外的 Trappist-1，另一个是 124 光年外的 K2-18b；但 K2-18b 上先前被视为二甲硫醚生命迹象的主张，后来被认为缺乏统计显著性且可能是非生物成因，显示系外行星科学仍有争议。
任务重心正在转向持续月球存在。NASA 拟在 2028 年后每年执行两次载人登月，并推动约 20bn 美元的月球基地；Artemis IV 取决于 SpaceX 或 Blue Origin 哪个登月器率先可用。中国也在推进到 2030 年前的载人登月，潜在著陆区可能在赤道附近 Rimae Bode，双方仍存在战略竞争。随著人工智慧与机器人进步，有人认为人类任务未必更实际，但因为持续的科学与公共想像，探索仍延伸到 Venus（云层约 30°C、曾报告磷化氢、Sara Seager 提出云层有 50:50 生命机率而火星地下为 75%）以及木星与土星卫星（2030s 的 JUICE 与 Europa Clipper，ESA 计划 2052 的 Enceladus 任务）仍保持高关注。
The article depicts a new golden age of space exploration. ESA’s Plato mission, launching early next year with 26 cameras, will survey thousands of exoplanets, while NASA’s Artemis II follows Apollo’s legacy with a new lunar-era trajectory. The first exoplanet was discovered in 1992; since then scientists have found over 6,000 others, still a tiny share of the Milky Way’s estimated over 100bn planets. Public and private spending is rising in the U.S. and China, both aiming for late-decade Moon landings, and PwC estimates 94-127bn USD cumulative lunar-economy revenue by 2050 from mining, tourism and support services.
Distance limits remain severe: the nearest exoplanet is over 4 light-years away, while Voyager 1, launched in 1977, will be only one light-day from Earth this year. The 2021 James Webb Space Telescope, at 1.5mn km from Earth, uses spectroscopy to analyze exoplanet atmospheres from starlight, and findings now range from water worlds to sulphurous hot worlds. Promising targets include Trappist-1 at around 40 light-years, and K2-18b at 124 light-years. But claims of dimethyl sulphide as a life signal there were later judged not statistically significant and possibly abiotic, showing exoplanet science remains contested.
Mission focus is shifting toward sustained lunar presence. NASA plans two crewed lunar missions yearly after 2028 and a roughly 20bn USD Moon base, with Artemis IV depending on which lander—SpaceX or Blue Origin—proves ready. China is also advancing toward a crewed landing by 2030, with possible sites near the equator at Rimae Bode, while both superpowers still compete strategically. As AI and robotics improve, some argue human missions may be less practical, but science and public imagination continue through Venus (clouds near 30°C, reported phosphine, and Sara Seager’s 50:50 life estimate versus 75% for subsurface Mars) as well as outer-moon targets including JUICE and Europa Clipper in the 2030s, and ESA’s planned Enceladus mission in 2052.