{"id":17067,"date":"2026-01-01T00:30:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T16:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/year-in-space-get-ready-for-moon-missions-to-take-center-stage-in-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T00:30:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T16:30:01","slug":"year-in-space-get-ready-for-moon-missions-to-take-center-stage-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/year-in-space-get-ready-for-moon-missions-to-take-center-stage-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Year in Space: Get ready for moon missions to take center stage in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1260\" height=\"709\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/220826-orionengine-1260x709.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: Orion engine firing during lunar flyby\" class=\"wp-image-718796\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/220826-orionengine-1260x709.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/220826-orionengine-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/220826-orionengine-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/220826-orionengine-630x354.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/220826-orionengine.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">An artist\u2019s conception shows the Orion spacecraft\u2019s main engine firing during a lunar flyby, surrounded by eight auxiliary engines built by L3Harris\u2019 Aerojet Redmond facility. (NASA Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lunar missions once felt like the domain of history books rather than current events, but an upcoming trip around the moon is poised to generate headlines at a level not seen since the Apollo era.<\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019s Artemis 2 mission, which is due to launch four astronauts on a round-the-moon journey as a warmup for a future lunar landing, is shaping up as the spaceflight highlight of 2026. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who took the agency\u2019s helm this month after a tumultuous year, says it\u2019s the top item on his must-see list.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s not to be excited about?\u201d he said last week on CNBC. \u201cWe\u2019re sending American astronauts around the moon. It\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve done that in a half-century. \u2026 We\u2019re weeks away, potentially a month or two away at most from sending American astronauts around the moon again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Pacific Northwest plays a significant role in the back-to-moon campaign. For example, L3Harris Technologies\u2019 team in Redmond, Wash., built thrusters for Artemis 2\u2019s Orion crew vehicle. And Artemis 2 isn\u2019t the only upcoming moon mission with Seattle-area connections: Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture, headquartered in Kent, plans to send an uncrewed Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to the lunar surface in 2026 to help NASA get set for future moon trips.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are taking our first steps to help open up the lunar frontier for all of humanity,\u201d Paul Brower, Blue Origin\u2019s director of lunar operations, said in a recent LinkedIn post. <\/p>\n<p>2026 could also be the year when Seattle-based Interlune sends its first prospecting instrument to the lunar surface to hunt for signs of helium-3, a rare material the company aims to bring back to Earth for use in fusion reactors or quantum computers.<\/p>\n<p>As we close out 2025, here\u2019s a look back at five of the past year\u2019s space milestones and five trends to watch in the year to come.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Looking back at 2025<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"New Glenn launch and landing, 13 November 2025\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pviGlY1PiHQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong>Blue Origin goes orbital:<\/strong> After a decade of development, Blue Origin launched its orbital-class New Glenn rocket for the first time in January, on a mission that lofted test equipment for its Blue Ring space mobility platform into orbit. A second launch in November sent NASA\u2019s Escapade probes toward Mars and marked the first successful at-sea recovery of a New Glenn booster. On the suborbital side, Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard program provided rides to space for seven crews. Notable passengers included Lauren Sanchez, who became Bezos\u2019 wife two months after her flight; Justin Sun, the crypto entrepreneur who paid $28 million for his space ticket; and Michaela Benthaus, the first wheelchair user to fly to space.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Amazon\u2019s satellite network gets down to business: <\/strong> The first operational satellites for Amazon\u2019s space-based broadband internet service were launched in April. The network\u2019s name was changed from Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo in November. Terminals have been shipped to early-stage customers for a preview program, and the rollout is expected to gather steam in 2026. Meanwhile, SpaceX continues to grow its Starlink network, with more than 9,300 satellites providing high-speed internet service to more than 9 million customers worldwide.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rubin Observatory delivers first images:<\/strong> A decade and a half ago, Microsoft\u2019s Bill Gates and Charles Simonyi donated $30 million to support the creation of a giant sky-survey telescope in Chile. in June, the Rubin Observatory finally made its star-studded debut, with Simonyi in attendance. Researchers at the University of Washington played key roles in shepherding the $800 million project to completion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A first for orbital data centers:<\/strong> Redmond-based Starcloud sent an Nvidia GPU chip into orbit in November, and weeks later it claimed to be the first company to train an artificial intelligence model in space. The achievement marked one small step in Starcloud\u2019s campaign to create a network of data centers in orbit. Several tech titans \u2014 including Bezos, OpenAI\u2019s Sam Altman, SpaceX\u2019s Elon Musk and Google\u2019s Sundar Pichai \u2014 see orbital data centers as a way to satisfy the growing hunger for AI processing resources on Earth. Some say the trend is driving SpaceX\u2019s plans to go public in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SpaceX\u2019s Starship goes through ups and downs:<\/strong> Many of SpaceX\u2019s ambitions, ranging from orbital data centers to moon landings to Mars migrations, depend on the successful development of its Starship super-rocket. Starship also plays a crucial role in the business models for lots of space startups, including Starcloud and a Seattle-based space travel venture called Orbite. Three Starship test flights ended badly in the first half of 2025, but SpaceX bounced back with two successful test flights in the second half of the year. Now SpaceX is working on an upgraded version of Starship \u2014 and dealing with the aftermath of a booster anomaly that occurred during a pressurization test in November.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Looking ahead to 2026<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Artemis 2 to send humans around the moon: <\/strong>For the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, humans will leave Earth orbit. The current plan calls for the Artemis 2 mission to take place in the February-to-April time frame. A crew of four \u2014 three Americans and one Canadian astronaut \u2014 will climb into the Orion spacecraft and be sent into space atop NASA\u2019s Space Launch System rocket. The round-the-moon route will be similar to the trajectory used for NASA\u2019s uncrewed Artemis 1 flight in 2022. If Artemis 2 goes well, that could set the stage for an Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing as early as 2027 (but more likely later).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"840\" height=\"1260\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/251229-bluemoon2-840x1260.jpeg\" alt=\"Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin team standing in front of Blue Moon lunar lander\" class=\"wp-image-907065\" style=\"width:400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/251229-bluemoon2-840x1260.jpeg 840w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/251229-bluemoon2-768x1151.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/251229-bluemoon2-1025x1536.jpeg 1025w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/251229-bluemoon2.jpeg 1158w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin employees pose for a picture in front of the Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander. (Blue Origin Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Blue Moon\u2019s lunar delivery: <\/strong>Blue Origin\u2019s uncrewed lander is tasked with delivering a NASA experiment called SCALPSS to the moon\u2019s south polar region. Stereo cameras will document how the landing burn interacts with the dusty lunar surface \u2014 and the results will be factored into plans for future landings. This Blue Moon Mark 1 mission will blaze a trail for Blue Origin\u2019s Mark 2 lander, which is due to start taking astronauts to the lunar surface in 2030. Other robotic spacecraft scheduled for moon landings in 2026 include China\u2019s Chang\u2019e 7 rover, Firefly\u2019s Blue Ghost 2 lander, Intuitive Machines\u2019 IM-3 lander and Astrobotic\u2019s Griffin lander (which will be carrying two mini-rovers and Interlune\u2019s helium-hunting camera).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Seattle space companies count down to liftoff: <\/strong>In addition to Blue Origin, several other companies headquartered near the Emerald City are planning big space missions in 2026. Kent-based Stoke Space could launch its first fully reusable Nova rocket from Florida. Bothell-based Portal Space Systems\u2019 Starburst space vehicle is due to make its orbital debut. And Tukwila-based Starfish Space is scheduled to demonstrate how its maneuverable Otter spacecraft can give satellites an in-space boost.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Golden Dome takes shape:<\/strong> A proposed $175 billion missile defense system known as the Golden Dome is already attracting interest from space ventures \u2014 particularly ventures that are focusing on in-space mobility (such as Portal Space and Starfish Space) or in-space data processing (such as Starcloud and Seattle-based Sophia Space). Marysville, Wash.-based Gravitics is building an orbital carrier that would serve as a \u201cpre-positioned launch pad in space\u201d for the U.S. Space Force, under the terms of a deal that could be worth as much as $60 million. Other big-ticket military projects are likely to come to light in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Whither NASA? Or will NASA wither?<\/strong> Isaacman is taking over at NASA following a year of layoffs and science program cuts. He has pledged to land astronauts on the moon during the current presidential term, but funding remains a hurdle. \u201cI almost guarantee you he\u2019s going to be walking up the street to the White House, saying \u2018I really need more money,\u2019\u201d NASAWatch\u2019s Keith Cowing said on Israel\u2019s i24 TV.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Bonus: Coming to a sky (or a screen) near you:<\/strong> Keep an eye out for a total lunar eclipse on March 3 that will be visible over the U.S., weather permitting. There\u2019s also a solar eclipse on Aug. 12 that will bring totality to narrow stretches of Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Although this eclipse can\u2019t be seen in Seattle\u2019s skies, you should be able to catch the highlights online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows the Orion spacecraft\u2019s main engine firing during a lunar flyby, surrounded by eight auxiliary engines built by L3Harris\u2019 Aerojet Redmond facility. (NASA Illustration) Lunar missions once felt like the domain of history books rather than current events, but an upcoming trip around the moon is poised to generate headlines at a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4394,304,1508,509,625,190,4218,4395],"class_list":["post-17067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-2026-outlook","tag-artemis","tag-blue-moon","tag-blue-origin","tag-moon","tag-nasa","tag-year-in-review","tag-year-in-review-2025"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17067"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17067\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}