The new year is around the corner; marking a promising year for space exploration. After years of travel and preparations, 2026 will see humanity return to the lunar vicinity and witness a major breakthrough at the solar system’s innermost planet.
The first part of the year will see four astronauts orbit the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions of the late 1990s and early 70s.
Meanwhile, there is high anticipation for China’s upcoming mission, which aims to explore the Moon’s shady spots to research for resources that could one day help life thrive there.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is reportedly working to launch a mission to determine whether humans can defend Earth from asteroids.
NASA’s Artemis II to send four astronauts on lunar orbit flight
2026 marked the “ Year of the Moon” for two major reasons. The first is the Artemis II mission, which will carry three American astronauts and one Canadian on a 10-day flyby around the Moon.
The crew will travel approximately 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the Moon, providing them with a unique vantage point to see both the Earth and the Moon simultaneously.
China’s marks major milestone with lunar south pole mission
The buzz surrounding lunar missions in 2026 remains strong, particularly as one mission utilizes a “hopper spacecraft” designed to leap from sunlit areas into permanently shadowed craters.
In this regard, Tang Yuhua, deputy chief designer of the Chang’e-7 told the media that finding ice at the Moon’s south pole could significantly reduce the cost and time required to transport water from Earth.
China hopes that the mission will ultimately lead to several breakthroughs such as using artificial intelligence to explore the Moon’s difficult polar regions.
Planetary defense through crash scene investigation
In a significant move, the European Space Agency (ESA) is investigating asteroids in an attempt to improve Earth’s defense against future objects that could strike our planet.
To achieve this, ESA launched a spacecraft in 2024 to scrutinize the impact site of an asteroid that the United States struck in 2022.
The primary goal of this mission is to understand how effectively spacecraft can protect Earth from incoming objects.
The data returned from ESA’s Hera mission will help scientists refine asteroid-deflecting technology, ensuring we are prepared should a future threat arise.
Measuring the invisible shield around the Earth
In April or May, European and Chinese scientists will launch a mission to capture detailed X-rays images of the Earth’s magnetosphere.
This magnetic field protects Earth and its inhabitants from the solar wind -a stream of charged particles flowing from the Sun.
The spacecraft will travel as far as 121, 000 kilometres above the North Pole, covering nearly one-third of the distance to the Moon.
A mission to mercury
For the first time, orbiters from Europe and Japan will enter orbit around Mercury-a difficult feat because the Sun’s massive gravitational pull makes it challenging to slow down.
Once in position, these orbiters will capture vital data on the planet’s magnetic environment and produce the most detailed global maps of Mercury’s surface to date.
These missions set the stage for a year that marks the transition from robotic scouting to the return of human presence in deep space.
