2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year for space exploration, shifting from "technological feasibility" to "mission reliability." From the first human beings traveling to the Moon in over half a century to the deployment of telescopes that will map the "invisible" universe, the next 12 months will redefine our reach into the cosmos.
Here is your detailed guide to the most anticipated spaceflight moments of 2026.
🌕 Moon Landings: The Return of Humans and Robots
The Moon remains the primary staging ground for deep-space exploration. In 2026, we transition from uncrewed tests to human presence and specialized polar exploration.
Artemis II (NASA/CSA): Scheduled for February 2026, this is the "crown jewel" of the year. Four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—will board the Orion spacecraft for a 10-day mission around the Moon. It will be the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972, testing the life-support systems required for future landings.
Chang’e 7 (CNSA): China plans to launch this ambitious mission to the Lunar South Pole in late 2026. It features a sophisticated suite of hardware: an orbiter, lander, rover, and a "mini-flying probe" designed to "hop" into shadowed craters to search for water ice.
Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS): * Intuitive Machines (IM-3): Targeting a 2026 arrival at Reiner Gamma, a mysterious "lunar swirl" with a strong local magnetic field.
Firefly Aerospace (Blue Ghost Mission 2): Set for late 2026, it will deliver the ESA’s Lunar Pathfinder satellite to orbit, establishing a vital communication relay for future far-side missions.
☄️ Asteroid Missions: Planetary Defense & Deep Secrets
2026 is a "year of arrival" for several spacecraft that have been traveling through the dark for years.
Hera (ESA): Scheduled to arrive at the binary asteroid system Didymos and Dimorphos in December 2026. Hera is the follow-up to NASA’s DART mission (which crashed into Dimorphos in 2022). It will perform a "crime scene investigation" to see how the impact changed the asteroid, providing crucial data for future planetary defense.
Tianwen-2 (CNSA): China’s asteroid sampler is expected to rendezvous with the "quasi-moon" KamoÊ»oalewa in mid-2026. It aims to collect a sample and return it to Earth, before continuing its journey to a main-belt comet.
Hayabusa2 (JAXA): The veteran spacecraft, still active after its Ryugu success, is slated for a high-speed flyby of asteroid Torifune in July 2026 as part of its extended mission.
🔠New Telescopes: Mapping the Dark Universe
While the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) looks "deep" into small patches of sky, the next generation of telescopes in 2026 is designed to look "wide."
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (NASA): Fully assembled and on track for a potential late 2026 launch, this 2.4-meter observatory has a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble’s. Its primary mission is to solve the mysteries of Dark Energy and Dark Matter by mapping billions of galaxies and discovering thousands of new exoplanets via microlensing.
PLATO (ESA): Though its primary launch window extends into late 2026/early 2027, this "Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars" mission will focus on finding Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars, specifically looking for worlds in the "habitable zone" where liquid water can exist.
🚀 Other Major Milestones
Gaganyaan G1 (ISRO): India’s first uncrewed orbital test flight is tentatively set for March 2026. It will carry "Vyommitra," a humanoid robot, to test the crew module's safety before Indian astronauts take flight.
Haven-1 (Vast): The world’s first commercial space station is scheduled for launch in 2026. It will initially serve as a short-duration destination for four crew members, marking a shift toward private orbital habitats.
BepiColombo (ESA/JAXA): After a long seven-year journey, the spacecraft will finally enter orbit around Mercury in late 2026 to begin its comprehensive study of the solar system's innermost planet.