2011 was a memorable year as far as space exploration is concerned, but 2012 also promises to be as exciting. Even with the end of NASA's space shuttle program, there are other space projects that will be highly anticipated by space enthusiasts.

Here's the top 5 missions - commercial, government, manned or robotic - to watch out for in 2012:

1. Commercial Spaceship Flights to ISS

Commercial companies are now in the process of developing spaceships in the wake of the space shuttle retirement this year to carry both cargo and crew to the International Space Station.

The first of these private vehicles is set to make its maiden voyage to the orbiting laboratory in 2012.
Developed by Hawthorne, Calif., company Space Exploration Technology (SpaceX), the Dragon space capsule is scheduled to launch atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket Feb. 7. The craft is expected to autonomously rendezvous with the space station a few days later.

Another private spacecraft is also set to make its debut in 2012. The Cygnus capsule, being developed by Orbital Sciences Corp., of Dulles, Va., Cygnus, is due to fly atop Orbital's Taurus 2 rocket in May.

2. China's Manned Space Laboratory

A growing player in space exploration, China has made notable advances on its own manned space station. In 2011, it was able to launch its first space station test module and conducted its first in-orbit rendezvous and docking.

The Tiangong-1 module, launched Sept. 29, is still in orbit while the robotic Shenzhou 8 mission which was launched Oct. 31 has returned to Earth in November. Shenzhou 8 met up with Tiangong-1 multiple times before it ended its successful docking mission.

China's next docking missions will be Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10, in preparation for its plan building a space station, with at least one of these missions crewed.

3. NASA's GRAIL Probes Begin Moon Mission

NASA launched the $496 million Grail spacecraft (short for "Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory") on a mission to map the moon's gravity in September.

Aimed to help learn about our natural satellite's interior and formation. the twin probes will stay in orbit around Earth's moon for about three months, tracking the moon's gravitational field by measuring minute changes in the distance between the two spacecraft due to gravitational variations.It is due to arrive at their target on New Year's Day.

4. Dawn Probe Pursues Second Asteroid

Launched in 2007, NASA's Dawn probe has been in orbit around the asteroid Vesta, the second-most- massive body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, since July 2011.

In July, the $466 million Dawn spacecraft is scheduled to depart Vesta and head toward its next asteroid, the dwarf planet Ceres with arrival set for February 2015. The probe aims to study these space rocks for clues about the history of our solar system and the formation of the planets.

5. Curiosity Rover Mission on Red Planet

NASA's huge new rover Curiosity, which lifted off Nov. 26, is expected to land on the Red Planet Aug. 6.

The $2.5 billion Curiosity is the largest and most ambitiously designed Mars rover to date, packed with 10 different science instruments to search for signs that Mars is, or ever was, habitable to life. It is the centerpiece of the space agency's Mars Science Laboratory mission,