In 2026, it is expected that there will be an invasion of “earthlings” on the Moon: humans will fly around it and cars created on Earth will land.
Of course, one of the most anticipated missions is Artemis II (Artemis 2). The first manned expedition beyond low-Earth orbit in 50 years, since the famous Apollo 17 in 1972. The Artemis II launch window will open on February 6, 2026, and will last until spring, NASA said. It is quite possible that the launch could be postponed to March-April. It all depends on the examination of the condition of the rocket and the crew.
According to information from open sources, tests of the SLS launch vehicle and the Orion spacecraft will begin in less than two weeks. A team of experts will examine the entire system, including the fuel supply to the first and second stages of the rocket.
Let us recall that in December, the US Senate confirmed billionaire Jared Isaacman to the position of head of NASA, and President Trump signed a decree titled “Ensuring American supremacy in space”. As experts note, the main goal stated in the document is to return American astronauts to the surface of the Moon no later than 2028. NASA, led by Isaacman, is tasked with presenting a detailed operational plan to achieve this goal within 90 days, including addressing potential delays in the development of a new lunar lander and spacesuit.
The Artemis II crew was announced back in April 2023. Who are the four astronauts who will link the past, present and future on the moon?
Commander: Reed Wiseman, NASA's 337th astronaut and the world's 538th astronaut. As a flight engineer, he performed a space flight on a Soyuz TMA-13M in 2014 to the International Space Station. The mission's pilot, Victor Glover, a crew member on the SpaceX Crew-1 spacecraft, served 168 days on the ISS. Two mission specialists: Christina Koch, who works on the ISS and holds the female spaceflight record of 328 days, and Jeremy Hansen, one of four active Canadian astronauts. He is the only one on the team with no space flight experience.
Astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft must fly around the Moon in a ballistic orbit without landing on it. Then, using a gravity-assist maneuver, the ship will return to Earth and plunge into the Pacific Ocean. The entire flight lasted ten days. By the way, Artemis II will most likely set a record for removing a ship with a crew from Earth.
What other flights are planned to the Moon next year? And what is their goal? Space.com has collected all the flights to the Moon planned for 2026.
Therefore, China's Chang'e-7 space probe is expected to be launched to search for ice at the Moon's South Pole. If it can be found, it will reduce the cost and time of delivering water to the Moon, help build a base on the Moon, and help research the possibility of life on the Moon and other planets. The media quoted the mission's Deputy Chief Designer Tang Yuhua as saying that the Chang'e-7 research probe consists of four vehicles: an orbiter and landing module, a lunar rover and a jumping probe. As reported, the latter will be able to crawl, jump and even fly using rocket propulsion, thanks to which it can travel dozens of kilometers in a single jump. This will allow exploration of rough terrain and deep craters that are inaccessible to conventional lunar rovers.
In the US, the Blue Moon Mark-1 lander is being prepared for launch. The purpose of the mission is to demonstrate the technological capabilities of Blue Origin's cargo lander. “Blue Moon MK1 will land in the Shackleton Crater area. We will soon conduct comprehensive end-to-end verification tests. The vehicle will be over 26 feet tall, smaller than our MK2 crew module but larger than the historic Apollo lander,” CEO Jeff Bezos said earlier on social media.
Blue Moon MK1 will go to the Moon without needing a round-trip ticket to Earth. This module is capable of transporting up to three tons of cargo. It will be launched by the super heavy New Glenn rocket.
Another robot is the Blue Ghost M2 from the American private company Firefly. His mission was to land on the far side of the Moon. Let's remember: in March 2025, Blue Ghost became the first private vehicle to land on the Moon without any problems. Within half an hour of landing, the module began transmitting images, including the first “selfie” on the lunar surface and a photo of Earth, visible as a small blue dot in the distance. The equipment brought to the Moon includes a drill to measure ground temperatures at depths of up to 3 meters, equipment to collect and analyze lunar dust, and a dust protection system for future missions. As experts note, this event is an important step in space exploration, where private companies begin to play an increasingly important role along with government agencies.
Europe's Lunar Pathfinder orbiter is expected to be launched alongside the Blue Ghost M2. The main objective of this mission is to provide communication services in lunar orbit and participate in experiments.
Intuitive Machines' NOVA-C lander is also on the waiting list to go to the Moon. Experts say this will be the third landing. The previous two episodes ended with the module capsizing.
Landing on the Moon's south pole delivering the FLIP and CubeRover rovers is a key mission for Astrobotic's Griffin-1 landing module. Last October, the company announced it would postpone the launch of the Griffin-1 lunar lander to July 2026 or later. Griffin-1 will become the heaviest private lunar module – until it is replaced by SpaceX's three-ton vehicle and Blue origin.
