In 2026, global government agencies and private companies are preparing dozens of missions — from astronauts flying around the Moon to launching new space telescopes and the first commercial orbital stations.
This was reported by Space.
Among the key events is NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, which will send humans beyond low Earth orbit for the first time since 1972. Four astronauts are scheduled to fly around the Moon in February–April 2026, testing systems for future landings.
Artemis II mission crew / NASA Artemis II
SpaceX plans to make 2026 a key year for the Starship rocket: launching it into orbit for the first time and demonstrating refueling in space — a critical technology for flights to the Moon and Mars. A full-fledged Mars launch remains in question, but orbital tests are already considered a major breakthrough.
Among private initiatives are Blue Origin, which plans to land the Blue Moon Mark 1 landing module on the Moon in 2026, and startup Vast, which wants to launch Haven-1, the first commercial space station designed for short manned missions.
Haven-1 / Vast docking system
Other players remain active. In 2026, China plans to:
send the Tianwen-2 spacecraft to an asteroid near Earth to collect samples;
launch the Xuntian space telescope, which will be similar in capabilities to Hubble.
The European Space Agency is preparing for two landmark events: the arrival of the Hera mission to the Didymos asteroid system to assess the results of the DART impact, and the entry of the BepiColombo spacecraft into Mercury’s orbit after an eight-year flight.
Also expected in 2026:
the first orbital flight of the Dream Chaser spacecraft;
the launch of the powerful Nancy Grace Roman telescope, which will help explore dark energy, dark matter, and thousands of exoplanets.
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